THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


CDucatfonal 

EDITED  BY  HENRY  SUZZALLO 

PRESIDENT   OF   THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   WASHINGTON,   SEATTLE 

HISTORY  IN  THE 
ELEMENTARY  SCHOOL 

BY 

CALVIN   NOYES    KENDALL,  LL.D. 

COMMISSIONER   OF   EDUCATION    FOR   THE   STATE   OF   NEW  JERSEY 

FORMERLY   SUPERINTENDENT   OF   SCHOOLS,   INDIANAPOLIS, 

INDIANA,   NEW   HAVEN,   CONN.,   ETC. 

AND 

FLORENCE  ELIZABETH   STRYKER,  A.M. 

HEAD   OF  THE   DEPARTMENT   OF   HISTORY,   STATE   NORMAL 
SCHOOL,   MONTCLAIR,    NEW  JERSEY 


HOUGHTON   MIFFLIN   COMPANY 

BOSTON,    NEW   YORK   AND    CHICAGO 


COPYRIGHT,   1918,  BY  CALVIN  NOYES  KENDALL  AND  FLORENCE 
ELIZABETH    STRYKER 

ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


Cbt -Ribtrsfot  JJrrss 

CAMBRIDGE  .  MASSACHUSETTS 
U   -    S    .    A 


fid./  Psych. 
Library 


CONTENTS 

EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION    .......     v 

I.  THE  VALUE  OF  HISTORY  IN  THE  ELEMENTARY 
SCHOOL     .........      i 

n.  THE  HISTORY  STORY  IN  THE  PRIMARY  GRADES    10 

III.  THE  BIOGRAPHICAL  STORY  IN  THE  INTER- 

MEDIATE GRADES        ......    15 

IV.  THE  USE  OF  THE  HISTORY  TEXTBOOK  .      .22 
V.  THE  ASSIGNMENT  OF  THE  LESSON  .      .      .25 

VI.  THE  STUDY  RECITATION      .....    29 

VII.  THE  USE  OF  OUTSIDE  READING      .      .      .38 
VIII.  THE  RECITATION      .......    47 

IX.  THE  USE  OF  THE  OUTLINE        ....    70 

X.  THE  USE  OF  ILLUSTRATIVE  MATERIAL  .      .    78 
XI.  DRAMATIZATION       .......    91 

XII.  DEBATES     .........  103 

XIII.  RELATION  OF  HISTORY  TO  GEOGRAPHY  .      .  109 

XIV.  CONCERNING  ENGLISH   ......  115 

XV.  CONCERNING  HOLIDAYS       .....  122 

OUTLINE      .........  131 


1267283 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

HISTORY  is  social  experience.  In  so  far  as  it  is 
the  experience  of  a  single  nation,  it  consists  of 
the  adventures  of  many  generations  of  ancestors 
living  in  a  continuous  group.  We  care  to  know 
and  remember  it  primarily  because  it  explains 
what  we  are  and  what  we  are  going  to  be.  It  is 
the  record  of  the  situations  which  have  permitted 
and  limited  our  aspirations;  it  is  the  accounting 
of  our  social  failures  and  successes;  it  is  the  story 
of  the  evolution  of  the  institutional  instruments 
with  which  we  now  control  our  social  life.  From 
it  we  have  taken  all  our  social  courages  and  cau- 
tions. It  is  our  book  of  national  lessons  in  which 
we  search  for  experience  to  solve  the  future. 

Timid  of  the  responsibilities  which  are  inevit- 
able in  this  view  of  history  teaching,  and  tinged 
by  an  academic  indifference  to  everything  save 
impersonal  perception  of  the  truth,  many  of  our 
most  respectable  and  mature  historical  teachers 
have  disavowed  the  practical  purposes  of  history. 
The  error  of  such  a  disavowal  is  not  grievous  in 
the  universities.  There  the  impersonal  search 
for  truth  is  a  major  business,  and  the  students 
v 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

taught  are  so  mature  and  highly  selected  that 
the  scientific  teaching  of  history  largely  fulfills 
the  needs  of  the  situation.  It  is  when  these  at- 
titudes and  methods  descend  to  the  classrooms 
of  high  and  elementary  schools  that  we  perceive 
their  inadequacy  and  begin  to  realize  that  a 
merely  scientific  ami  must  be  supplemented  by 
practical,  social,  and  civic  objectives,  and  that 
methods  of  instruction  must  be  so  devised  as  to 
make  the  important  events  of  other  generations 
vital  and  appealing  to  the  individuals  of  this.  In 
no  other  way  can  the  really  significant  truths  of 
history  be  individualized  and  made  a  common 
group  possession. 

Of  course  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  the 
scientific  historian  shall  discover  by  a  rigid 
method  what  our  social  past  has  really  been. 
The  disentanglement  of  truths  from  myths  is 
a  serious  task  and  must  be  accomplished  relent- 
lessly. But  the  acceptance  of  this  obligation  does 
not  by  any  means  complete  the  duty  of  histo- 
rians as  a  class.  Since  ordinary  men  cannot  and 
will  not  know  all  that  historians  do,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  choose  that  which  is  the  more  significant 
in  the  interpretation  of  the  historic  currents 
which  have  swept  us  into  our  present  and  will 
sweep  us  on  to  our  future. 
vi 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

Onde  in  possession  of  the  scientific  facts  of 
history,  the  historian  who  would  make  his 
truths  vital  in  the  transmission  must  pick  and 
reject,  emphasize  and  subordinate,  according 
as  the  things  known  have  greater  or  less  social 
significance.  Unfortunately,  it  is  too  frequently 
the  case  that  the  scientific  historian  does  not 
readily  turn  conscious  social  historian.  When  he 
writes,  as  necessarily  he  does,  he  must  determine 
sequences  of  topics  and  the  relative  space  to  be 
given  each,  and  these  decisions  inevitably  express 
his  own  measure  of  the  worth  of  events  —  a 
measure  more  or  less  personal  and  only  half 
reasoned  out.  Thus,  some  writers  have  empha- 
sized military  and  political  affairs,  and  others 
have  stressed  the  economic  and  social  aspects  of 
history.  The  difference  is  due  to  a  personal  dis- 
agreement as  to  what  is  the  more  important 
knowledge  for  the  man  living  now  and  in  the 
future.  Among  all  these  variations  in  the  treat- 
ment of  national  experience,  the  teacher  must 
make  his  way  to  some  definite  choice  of  impor- 
tant facts.  And  a  difficult  path  it  is  that  leads  to 
the  solution  of  this  first  problem. 

Once  the  web  of  history  is  re-spun  for  its  expe- 
rience or  living  worth,  the  teacher  has  another 
task,  that  of  transmitting  the  same  to  the 
vii 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

younger  generation,  so  that  the  truths  of  the 
rational  life  clutch  the  personal  life  of  the  citizen 
as  powerfully  as  experiences  that  have  been 
directly  won.  This  second  is  the  pedagogical 
problem  —  the  task  of  personalizing  national  ex- 
periences so  widely  among  men  that  a  national 
consciousness  of  mind  arises  from  common  pos- 
session. 

In  the  solution  of  these  two  difficulties  of  the 
schoolmaster,  this  text  will  aid.  It  offers  invalu- 
able suggestions  for  making  a  functional  choice 
of  historic  facts  and  develops  in  detail  the  tried 
and  successful  methods  that  will  make  the  tra- 
vails and  lessons  of  national  groups  long  since 
dead,  vital  and  useful  vicarious  experiences  to 
that  growing  citizen  —  the  American  youth. 


HISTORY  IN 
THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOL 


THE  VALUE  OF  HISTORY  IN  THE 
ELEMENTARY  SCHOOL 

History  explains  the  present 

"HE  who  knows  nothing  of  history,"  says 
Macaulay,  "may  be  likened  to  a  blind  man  who, 
passing  through  a  wonderful  gallery  filled  with 
beautiful  pictures,  sees  none  of  them." 

Perhaps  it  might  be  justly  claimed  that  he 
who  knows  no  history  is  hopelessly  blind  to  the 
meaning  of  the  world  in  which  he  lives.  The  child 
finds  himself  in  a  complex  and  mysterious  civi- 
lization. He  meets,  daily,  customs,  institutions, 
ideas,  words,  whose  significance  he  does  not  un- 
derstand. 

As  science  reveals  to  him  the  meaning  of  the 
physical  phenomena  around  him,  so  the  study  of 
history  explains  to  him  the  social  problems  that 
excite  his  curiosity. 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

The  child  is  the  eternal  questioner.  History 
answers  some  of  his  questions. 

It  is  the  history  lesson  that  tells  him  why  his 
town  has  a  certain  name;  what  is  meant  by  the 
United  States,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  etc.; 
why  people  go  to  different  churches;  why  his 
father  is  a  Republican  or  a  Democrat;  what  hap- 
pens on  election  day;  why  men  cheer  the  flag.  It 
is  the  history  lesson  that  explains  the  other  chil- 
dren in  the  classroom  and  their  different  ways 
of  living  —  Italians,  Russians,  Germans.  News- 
paper headlines  become  intelligible  through  his 
knowledge  of  history  and  civics.  The  boy  who 
said,  "  What 's  the  use  of  studying  history?  It 's 
all  past,"  had  not  learned  that  history  is  the 
powerful  acid  that  dissolves  the  complex  ele- 
ments of  the  world  we  live  in  into  their  true  parts. 
By  its  aid  we  understand  more  clearly  not  only 
the  past,  but  the  ever-changing,  confused  present. 

History  stimulates  intelligent  patriotism.  If 
the  public  school  is  the  "melting-pot"  in  which 
we  fuse  the  diverse  and  heterogeneous  elements 
abounding  in  American  life,  then  the  study  of 
American  history  is  a  most  potent  flame  in  this 
great  process. 

The  little  foreigner  but  recently  arrived,  who 
in  broken  English  talks  proudly  of  what  "our 

s 

2 


THE  VALUE  OF  HISTORY 

Pilgrim  Fathers  done,"  has,  felt  the  magic  of  this 
flame. 

History  teaching,  however,  that  gives  merely 
a  superficial,  sentimental  patriotism  is  both 
futile  and  dangerous.  To  salute  the  flag  is  easy; 
to  be  an  intelligent  citizen  takes  thought  and 
time  and  involves  some  sacrifice. 

The  school  celebrations  on  Washington's  and 
Lincoln's  birthdays,  if  they  are  worth  anything 
to  the  child,  should  show  him  that  the  making 
of  a  nation  is  a  difficult  and  laborious  task,  a 
task  which  is  not  yet  finished. 

He  reads  eagerly  the  story  of  the  dark  days, 
the  cold  nights,  the  suffering  at  Valley  Forge, 
but  the  story  should  do  more  than  arouse  his  love 
of  the  heroic.  It  should  stir  in  him  a  feeling  of 
love  and  gratitude  toward  Washington  and  the 
men  who  created  this  Republic'  regardless  of 
pain  and  hardship. 

This  America  has  been  given  him  by  them  to 
guard  and  cherish.  It  is  a  precious  gift  which  he 
must  preserve  at  any  cost.  Hundreds  have  lived 
bravely  and  died  nobly  that  he  may  enjoy  this 
priceless  heritage;  therefore  the  study  of  history 
should  arouse  in  him  an  overwhelming  sense  of 
loyalty  and  duty  to  the  nation,  a  desire  for  serv- 
ice that  "neither  doubts,  nor  counts  the  cost, 

3 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

nor  asks  recognition,"  a  service  that  means  sac- 
rifice, an  Americanism  worthy  of  the  name. 

History  develops  the  reasoning  power  and  the 
balanced  judgment 

While  history  kindles  patriotism,  when  it  is 
truthfully  presented,  it  is  also  the  best  cure  for 
a  narrow  provincialism,  a  provincialism  which 
sees  only  one  side  to  a  question,  that  dislikes  and 
sneers  at  all  foreigners,  that  believes  the  false 
theory  that  "one's  country  is  always  in  the 
right." 

If  it  teaches  anything,  history  teaches  the  bal- 
anced judgment.  It  is  the  remedy  for  the  stupid 
partisanship  which  crushes  independent  reason- 
ing and  prevents  reform. 

The  eighth-grade  child  who  argues  for  the  rights 
of  the  British  Parliament  during  the  Revolution, 
or  presents  the  secession  doctrine  to  his  class,  has 
learned  to  think,  the  chief  end  of  education. 

We  consider  that  the  ability  to  examine  both 
sides  of  an  argument,  to  pick  out  the  truth  while 
seeing  the  other  man's  point  of  view,  is  a  rare 
gift  among  adult  thinkers.  Children  in  the  upper 
elementary  grades  are  perfectly  capable  of  exer- 
cising this  same  reasoning  power  if  they  are 
properly  trained  to  use  their  minds. 

4 


THE  VALUE  OF  HISTORY 

But  because  of  the  banal  and  one-sided  text- 
books which  are  often  presented  to  them,  and 
the  teacher's  lack  of  interest  or  information,  the 
average  child  emerges  from  his  study  of  history 
with  his  reasoning  powers  utterly  untouched,  his 
viewpoint  biased,  his  knowledge  of  the  past  vague 
and  inaccurate. 

As  the  vast  majority  of  American  children 
never  reach  the  high  school,  they  enter  upon  the 
business  of  life  untrained  in  a  kind  of  reasoning 
most  valuable  in  daily  affairs. 

It  has  been  said  that  knowledge  of  historical 
facts  is  not  necessary  for  success  in  life.  This  is 
true,  but  the  ability  to  think,  clearly,  to  under- 
stand that  nothing  happens  without  some  cause, 
to  realize  that  an  important  event  like  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence  or  the  invention  of  the 
steam  engine  affects  our  lives  to-day,  —  all  this 
is  more  than  a  mere  knowledge  of  facts  and  will 
help  the  child  in  his  struggle  with  life. 

Biography  is  peculiarly  powerful  in  developing 
the  child's  judgment. 

The  discovery  that  the  great  men  of  the  past 
had  faults  like  our  faults,  that  they  sometimes 
made  mistakes,  that  we  must  judge  them  and  their 
acts  by  the  times  in  which  they  lived,  arouses  the 
child's  interest  and  develops  his  reasoning  faculty. 

5 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

He  finds,  that  Washington  owned  slaves,  that 
the  Puritans  were  cruel  and  unjust  to  the  Quak- 
ers, that  John  Hancock  was  arrested  for  smug- 
gling, that  Benedict  Arnold  was  a  brave  soldier 
and  saved  the  day  at  Saratoga.  What  should  he 
think  about  these  matters? 

The  very  effort  to  think  about  them  at  all 
is  excellent  mental  discipline.  When  the  child 
studies  carefully  the  life  of  the  past  in  order  to 
understand  the  action  of  the  hero,  he  not  only 
gains  information,  he  cultivates  his  judgment. 

But  the  child  will  never  develop  mentally  by 
the  mere  memorizing  of  historical  facts.  The 
stimulation  of  his  reasoning  power  must  be  ob- 
tained by  methods  that  lead  to  thoughtful  study, 
class  discussion,  and  definite  expression. 

History  stimulates  the  imagination  and  interests 
the  child  in  historical  reading 

With  the  exception  of  literature  no  subject  so 
excites  the  imagination  and  carries  the  student 
into  a  world  of  fascinating  adventure  and  excite- 
ment as  history.  The  history  story  is  like  a  magic 
carpet  that  bears  the  child  away  from  the  daily 
prosaic  life  of  home  and  school  into  a  land  of 
eternal  romance. 

From  the  time  he  meets  the  Indians  in  the 
6 


THE  VALUE  OF  HISTORY 

first  grade  and  enjoys  their  delightful  company, 
or  travels  with  Daniel  Boone  across  the  Kentucky 
mountains,  holds  the  bridge  with  Horatius, 
attends  a  tournament  with  Richard  the  Lion- 
Hearted,  paddles  down  the  Mississippi  with  Mar- 
quette,  until  he  steams  up  the  Hudson  with  Ful- 
ton, he  is  the  comrade  of  great  adventurers,  the 
interested  spectator  of  great  deeds. 

Not  only  does  history  appeal  to  the  child's 
imagination  and  love  of  romance,  but  it  is  part 
of  his  educational  equipment.  He  meets  the  his- 
torical figure  in  literature,  in  the  art  museums, 
in  allusions  in  the  newspapers,  in  plays  at  the 
theater,  even  in  moving-picture  shows;  if  he 
knows  nothing  about  these  personages  or  the 
part  they  played  in  lif e,  he  has  been  cheated  out 
of  his  natural  heritage. 

Standing  on  the  steps  of  the  noble  statue  of 
Joan  of  Arc  recently  erected  on  Riverside  Drive 
in  New  York  City,  a  little  Italian  girl  told  in 
charming  English  to  a  group  of  East  Side  chil- 
dren the  great  story  of  the  French  maid.  She  had 
learned  it  all  in  school,  the  moving  tale  and  the 
language  in  which  she  told  it.  The  children 
touched  the  stone  with  reverent  little  fingers  and 
went  home  the  richer  for  their  vision  of  bravery 
and  sacrifice.  The  history  story  had  indeed  justi- 

7 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

fied  itself.  Children  whose  imagination  and  inter- 
est are  developed  along  the  lines  of  historical  read- 
ing have  found  a  treasure  house  to  which  they  can 
resort  in  later  days.  The  historical  novel,  the 
books  of  the  great  historians,  biography,  and 
travel  are  resources  which  never  fail  them  in  after 
life.  The  taste  for  such  reading  may  be  taught 
and  cultivated  in  the  elementary  school. 

History  as  a  guide  to  conduct 

That  the  study  of  history  explains  much  in  our 
present-day  lif e,  that  it  teaches  patriotism,  de- 
velops the  judgment  and  the  reasoning  power, 
stirs  and  delights  the  imagination,  and  is  a  source 
of  pleasure  in  later  years  are  results  that  nearly 
all  teachers  are  willing  to  acknowledge;  but  that 
history  study  enables  us  to  decide  the  problems 
of  life  or  is  in  any  way  a  guide  to  conduct  is  per- 
haps less  easily  proved. 

The  moral  and  the  ethical  elements,  however, 
are  strongly  visible  in  many  of  the  history  stories 
we  teach  in  school.  The  beauty  of  sacrifice,  the 
evil  results  of  selfishness,  the  wickedness  of  tyr- 
anny and  cruelty,  the  hatefulness  of  hypocrisy 
and  the  nobility  of  patience,  courage,  and  hon- 
esty are  emphasized  again  and  again  in  the  his- 
tory books  as  they  are  in  human  life.  The  story 
8 


THE  VALUE  OF  HISTORY 

of  Nathan  Hale,  the  words  of  Lincoln,  the  atti- 
tude of  Lee  after  the  Civil  War,  are  in  them- 
selves sermons  by  the  way. 

When  we  add  to  this  the  balanced  judgment 
and  the  developed  sense  of  cause  and  result  that 
history  properly  taught  in  the  higher  elementary 
grades  will  produce,  one  may  venture  to  assert 
that  the  study  of  history,  while  it  may  not  al- 
ways determine  the  conduct  of  a  child,  at  least 
sets  before  him  an  ethical  standard,  a  moral  ideal 
that  makes  for  righteousness  and  good  citizen- 
ship. 


II 

THE  HISTORY  STORY  IN  THE  PRIMARY  GRADES 

The  oral  history  story 

THE  child's  first  knowledge  of  history  comes 
through  the  lips  of  his  teacher.  It  is  the  oral  his- 
tory story  that  he  hears  at  first  in  the  lower  grades. 

From  his  teacher  he  learns  of  primitive  peoples, 
of  the  Indians  and  their  fascinating  life.  He  lis- 
tens to  great  adventure  stories  and  the  biographies 
of  heroes.  These  stories  appeal  to  his  imagination 
because  they  are  pictorial  and  dramatic  in  form. 

How  should  the  teacher  present  the  oral  his- 
tory story  successfully? 

The  first  requirement  is  enthusiasm.  The  teacher 
must  desire  to  make  the  story  alive  and  interest- 
ing. She  must  determine  to  put  herself  into  the 
story.  She  must  really  enjoy  telling  it.  If  she 
succeeds  in  feeling  the  story,  she  will  create  an 
atmosphere  of  reality  that  affects  her  voice,  her 
gestures,  her  presentation  of  the  material.  The 
children  respond  at  once  to  this  mental  attitude. 
The  story  is  immediately  real  and  convincing  and 
it  holds  their  interest  and  attention. 
10 


THE  HISTORY  STORY 

The  second  requirement  is  adequate  prepara- 
tion. The  teacher  should  know  thoroughly  the 
historical  material  from  which  the  story  is  to 
be  made.  The  child  should  feel  that  the  teacher 
speaks  from  "  some  inexhaustible  source  of  knowl- 
edge." The  hasty  reading  of  a  primary  history 
will  not  give  sufficient  background.  The  more 
the  teacher  knows  about  the  subject,  the  more 
skillful  she  will  be  in  translating  it  into  primary 
language. 

The  third  step  is  the  outline,  the  arrangement 
of  the  facts  in  logical  sequence.  The  teacher  uses 
here  her  dramatic  sense,  eliminates  unessential 
details,  puts  in  the  picturesque  or  vital  event, 
and  if  possible  arranges  the  story  so  that  a  climax 
may  be  secured. 

Lastly,  the  story  outline  must  be  clothed  in  the 
teacher's  own  words. 

These  words  are  very  important,  for  the  story 
must  be  told  in  language  the  child  clearly  under- 
stands. 

New  and  difficult  words  should  be  written  on 
the  board  and  explained  when  they  are  used. 
Children  enjoy  knowing  new  words,  but  become 
confused  and  lose  interest  when  the  story  is  told 
in  language  above  their  heads. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  use  of  good  English 
ii 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

is  absolutely  essential.  Slang,  commonplace  ex- 
pressions, localisms,  and  poor  grammatical  forms 
stand  out  painfully  and  react  on  the  children.  In 
order  to  "talk  down"  to  the  children,  it  is  not 
necessary  to  mutilate  the  English  language. 

In  some  history  stories,  a  question  skillfully 
inserted  at  intervals  intensifies  the  interest.  How 
do  you  suppose  the  Pilgrims  felt  when  Samoset 
appeared?  Why  do  you  think  the  Pilgrims  were 
wise  to  ask  the  Indians  to  their  Thanksgiving  din- 
ner? How  many  do  you  think  went  back  when 
the  Mayflower  sailed  for  home?  Such  questions 
make  the  children  think.  The  story  grows  more 
real  as  the  tale  advances.  The  introduction  of 
questioning  into  a  story  depends  on  the  nature 
of  the  material.  Sometimes  it  would  break  the 
continuity  of  the  narrative  and  destroy  the  effect 
of  the  story.  The  life  of  Lincoln,  for  example, 
when  first  told  in  the  primary  grades  should  be 
told  as  a  whole. 

One  of  the  most  essential  features  in  primary 
history  stories  is  the  personal  element.  Children 
do  not  understand  or  care  about  the  general  or 
abstract.  For  instance,  in  teaching  the  life  of 
the  colonial  children,  weave  the  story  around  the 
adventures  of  some  particular  hero  or  heroine. 
The  class  will  be  more  interested  in  the  various 
12 


THE  HISTORY  STORY 

experiences  of  Little  Hans  who  lived  in  old  Ho- 
boken  or  Old  Manhattan  than  they  will  be  in  a 
descriptive  talk  on  the  way  the  Dutch  children 
lived  long  ago.  Many  of  the  writers  of  the  pri- 
mary history  readers  recognize  this  fact  and  the 
history  material  is  presented  in  fictional  form. 
We  have  "Priscilla's  Day  in  School,"  instead  of 
"How  Our  Grandmothers  Went  to  School." 

This  is  especially  true  in  teaching  the  Indian 
work  used  so  largely  in  the  first  and  second 
grades.  The  teacher  should  read  enough  to  ob- 
tain a  necessary  knowledge  of  the  facts.  She  then 
conveys  this  information  by  a  fascinating  series 
of  little  tales  about  some  imaginary  Indian  child 
hero  or  heroine.  Through  the  medium  of  the 
story  she  teaches  much  about  Indian  life,  the 
wigwam,  the  family  affairs,  play,  work,  journeys, 
etc.  The  Hiawatha  stories  use  the  same  method 
in  poetic  form. 

When  a  primary  history  reader  is  used  instead 
of  the  oral  story,  the  teacher  must  still  be  able 
to  supplement  the  book  with  her  own  personal 
story-telling  power. 

The  mere  reading  of  the  history  story  in  class 
by  the  children  is  not  sufficient.  To  make  the 
work  effective  the  teacher  must  vitalize  the  book. 
She  must  know  more  about  the  story  than  the 

13 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

book  gives.  A  little  outside  reading  will  help  her 
to  reinforce  the  book  and  give  color  to  the  narra- 
tive. By  questioning  during  the  reading  lesson 
or  at  its  close  she  can  bring  out  the  essentials  of 
the  story. 

Some  interesting  story  material  for  the  pri- 
mary grades  would  be  stories  of  the  Vikings, 
the  story  of  Robin  Hood  and  his  times,  the 
story  of  Columbus,  Indian  stories  of  all  types 
including  the  Cliff-Dwellers;  the  story  of  John 
Smith  and  old  Virginia,  the  Pilgrim  story,  the 
story  of  William  Penn  and  his  city,  old  Dutch  sto- 
ries, the  story  of  Daniel  Boone,  and  of  the  boy- 
hood life  of  Washington  and  Lincoln. 

All  primary  history  stories  should  be  illumined 
by  the  use  of  illustrative  material,  dramatiza- 
tion, exercises  hi  English  composition,  and  vari- 
ous devices.  The  use  of  illustrative  material, 
pictures,  sand  tables,  manual  work,  methods  of 
dramatization  and  review  are  discussed  as  special 
topics  later  in  this  book. 


Ill 

THE  BIOGRAPHICAL  STORY  IN  THE 
INTERMEDIATE  GRADES 

As  the  story  is  the  child's  doorway  to  any  histori- 
cal knowledge  in  the  primary  years,  so  it  remains 
the  entrance  to  his  knowledge  of  the  past  in  the 
intermediate  grades. 

The  story  here,  however,  becomes  definite 
biography.  It  ceases  to  be  the  telling  of  some  dis- 
connected dramatic  incident  and  presents  the 
color  and  atmosphere  of  a  past  period  through 
the  biography  of  some  heroic  or  famous  figure 
whose  career  portrays  the  life  of  his  time. 

Instead  of  the  story  of  the  Pilgrims  and  the 
first  Thanksgiving  Day,  for  instance,  we  give 
the  life  of  William  Bradford  or  Miles  Standish 
or  Roger  Williams.  The  narrative  brings  in  the 
English  background  from  which  the  Puritan 
sprang.  It  describes  conditions  in  America  in 
much  more  detail  and  shows  the  character  of  the 
men  who  laid  the  foundations  of  New  England. 

All  intermediate  biography  should  have  certain 
definite  aims  in  it?  presentation. 

15 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

First,  it  must  appeal  to  the  heroic  and  dra- 
matic element  which  is  so  strongly  developed  in 
the  child  in  the  fifth  and  sixth  grades.  The 
stories  studied  must,  therefore,  be  interesting  in 
themselves  and  should  be  simply  and  vividly 
told. 

Secondly,  it  should,  through  the  medium  of 
the  story,  bring  out  the  character  of  some  espe- 
cial period  or  the  life  of  some  particular  epoch. 
The  story  of  Peter  Stuyvesant  is  an  example  of  a 
biography  which  conveys  much  excellent  colo- 
nial history.  His  life  shows  old  Dutch  days  in 
New  York,  its  quaint  customs  and  traditions. 
It  tells  also  of  the  Swedes  and  their  homes  on  the 
Delaware.  The  story  is  carried  on  to  the  changes 
under  English  rule,  and  the  child  sees  New  York 
emerging  from  New  Amsterdam.  All  this  history 
may  be  taught  in  a  very  interesting  fashion  as 
part  of  the  entertaining  biography  of  the  hot- 
headed, sturdy  old  Dutch  Governor. 

Thirdly,  the  biography  used  should  have  some 
chronological  sequence  or  some  definite  develop- 
ing idea  or  unifying  thought.  A  mere  heteroge- 
neous collection  of  tales  without  any  motive  or 
definite  order  leaves  a  vague  and  disconnected 
impression  on  the  child's  mind.  If  he  reads  the 
life  of  Robert  Fulton  one  day,  then  takes  up  the 
16 


THE  BIOGRAPHICAL  STORY 

exploits  of  George  Rogers  Clark  for  the  next 
lesson,  he  races  mentally  back  and  forth  across 
the  historical  field  and  loses  all  sense  of  true  de- 
velopment. But  if  he  takes,  for  example,  a  group 
of  inventors,  Eli  Whitney,  Robert  Fulton,  Sam- 
uel Morse,  and  Thomas  Edison,  the  study  of 
these  stories  is  the  study  of  one  great  phase  of 
American  history. 

Fourthly,  sixth-grade  biography  should  pre- 
pare the  way  for  the  connected  textbook  study 
of  history  in  the  higher  elementary  grades.  Mod- 
ern educators  generally  favor  the  use  of  European 
hero  stories  in  this  grade  as  a  natural  and  proper 
background  for  the  American  history  which  is 
to  follow.  The  European  stories  are  interesting 
and  contain  much  that  is  vivid  and  dramatic. 
They  reveal  a  civilization  especially  appealing  to 
children  of  this  age.  Above  all  they  explain  to 
the  American  of  the  present  the  meaning  of  the 
history  he  is  to  study.  American  history  did  not 
begin  in  1492,  and  the  European  story  work 
shows  the  boy  or  girl  the  world  from  which  the 
first  Americans  came.  They  describe  his  ances- 
tors and  their  life  in  Europe  and  widen  his  con- 
ception of  the  past. 

If  the  European  biographies  are  used,  they 
should  be  carefully  selected  and  should  touch 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

only  on  certain  high  lights  in  the  historical 
past. 

The  story  of  Leonidas  teaches  the  stern  pa- 
triotism of  the  ancient  Spartan.  The  glory  and 
beauty  of  Athens  are  seen  in  the  life  of  Themis- 
tocles. 

A  day  at  the  Olympic  games  reveals  the 
splendor  of  old  Greece.  The  out-of-door  life, 
the  open-air  plays,  the  great  athletic  contests 
are  all  deeply  interesting  to  children. 

The  story  of  Julius  Caesar  will  give  a  glimpse 
of  one  of  the  world's  greatest  men  and  also  a  pic- 
ture of  the  wonderful  Roman  civilization  of  his 
day. 

Medieval  life  may  be  shown  by  various  group 
stories,  such  as  tales  of  William  the  Conqueror, 
of  Joan  of  Arc,  King  Alfred,  King  Richard 
the  Lion-Hearted,  Frederick  Barbarossa,  Robert 
Bruce,  etc. 

The  stories  present  splendid  and  exciting 
figures,  whose  names  should  be  known  to  every 
child.  Through  these  heroes  he  meets  crusaders 
and  monks,  peasants  and  princes.  He  should  not 
only  learn  of  the  life  in  the  castles  and  manors, 
but  he  should  become  somewhat  acquainted  with 
medieval  industrial  lif  e.  He  should  be  introduced 
to  the  labor  gilds,  so  like  our  labor  unions,  and 
18 


THE  BIOGRAPHICAL  STORY 

to  the  great  fairs  where  one  did  one's  shopping  for 
the  year. 

The  Renaissance,  which  is  the  ground  floor  of 
all  American  history,  may  be  shown  by  the  lives 
of  persons  like  Marco  Polo,  John  of  Guttenberg, 
Queen  Elizabeth,  and  Sir  Walter  Raleigh.  Here 
the  stories  emphasize  the  changed  conditions  in 
Europe.  We  see  new  ideas,  new  inventions,  new 
methods  of  travel,  new  desires  for  trade,  and  the 
boy  or  girl  understands  Vasco  da  Gama  and 
Columbus. 

There  are  many  books  of  hero  stories  or  bio- 
graphical sketches  in  use  in  the  intermediate 
grades.  Few  of  these  possess  any  developing  idea. 
The  teacher  can  use  them  successfully,  however, 
by  arranging  the  stories  in  groups  according  to 
her  own  plan  or  by  supplementing  the  material 
given  by  outside  material  from  other  books.  If 
the  children  have  access  to  a  public  library,  or 
have  any  reference  library  in  school,  they  can 
find  new  anecdotes  or  information  about  the 
character  they  are  studying  and  add  to  the  inter- 
est of  the  class. 

After  the  story  has  been  read  and  studied  care- 
fully, it  may  often  be  dramatized  for  review  work; 
the  class  may  arrange  the  scenes  and  choose  the 
characters.  Such  a  story  as  the  life  of  Marco 

19 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

Polo  lends  itself  delightfully  to  sixth-grade 
drama,  or,  for  that  matter,  any  hero  story  which 
is  adapted  to  intermediate  grade  work  is  capable 
of  dramatic  interpretation.  Further  discussion 
of  this  method  will  be  found  under  the  topic 
Dramatization. 

Interesting  games  may  be  invented  for  review 
devices  after  a  class  has  studied  a  number  of  bi- 
ographies. Such  a  game  as  "Who  am  I?"  is  an 
illustration  of  this  method.  One  child  leaves  the 
room  and  the  class  decide  what  character  he  is 
to  personify.  Upon  his  return  they  skillfully 
question  him  as  to  his  identity.  The  more  he 
knows  about  the  past  material  he  has  been  read- 
ing, the  quicker  he  is  able  to  guess  who  he  is 
supposed  to  represent.  Biographical  story  work 
may  be  illustrated  by  pictures  which  the  children 
can  collect,  by  blackboard  drawing,  by  English 
theme  work  in  novel  or  interesting  form;  as, 
"Imagine  you  were  living  in  Boonesboro  with 
Daniel  Boone.  Describe  a  day's  experience 
there" ;  or,  "Write  a  page  or  two  pretending  it 
is  the  diary  of  Robert  Morris  and  that  he  is  trying 
to  raise  money  for  the  army  in  Philadelphia  in 
1777  ";  or,  if  the  subject-matter  be  European  his- 
tory, "  Imagine  you  were  dining  with  Robin  Hood 
in  Sherwood  Forest.  Describe  the  scene";  or, 
20 


THE  BIOGRAPHICAL  STORY 

"You  saw  Queen  Elizabeth  knight  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh.   Write  an  account  of  the  event." 

Variety  in  review  and  a  unified  plan  in  teach- 
ing biography  in  the  intermediate  grades  will 
make  this  work  vigorous,  valuable,  and  ex- 
tremely interesting. 


IV 

THE  USE  OF  THE  HISTORY  TEXTBOOK 

THE  serious  study  of  history  in  the  elementary 
schools  is  necessarily  from  a  textbook.  What- 
ever of  definite  knowledge  is  possessed  by  the 
child  who  leaves  the  upper  elementary  grades 
to  enter  the  high  school,  or  to  begin  his  life  in 
the  world,  has  been  derived  from  his  study  of 
a  textbook. 

Ignorance  of  the  use  of  this  book  is,  however, 
most  common  hi  our  schools.  "I  studied  a  red 
book,"  "My  history  book  had  a  brown  cover," 
is  the  only  knowledge  the  child  possesses  after 
a  year  or  even  two  years'  intimate  acquaintance 
with  a  textbook.  He  does  not  know  the  author, 
the  title  of  the  book,  or  the  method  used  in 
writing  it.  He  has  never  used  any  of  its  sug- 
gestions or  very  carefully  examined  its  maps  or 
pictures. 

When  a  child  begins  the  study  of  a  new  text- 
book some  time  should  be  given  to  a  careful 
examination  of  its  contents.  The  title  and  the 
author's  name  should  be  learned.  Such  ques- 
22 


THE  HISTORY  TEXTBOOK 

tions  may  be  asked  as,  "Who  wrote  this  book?" 
"What  do  we  know  about  him?"  "Who  are  the 
publishers?"  "What  are  copyright  laws?"  etc. 

The  preface  should  be  read  aloud.  The  chil- 
dren can  usually  understand  it  and  they  can 
explain  the  author's  aims  to  the  class  in  their 
own  words.  The  table  of  contents  should  be 
carefully  looked  over.  How  has  the  subject  been 
arranged?  What  names  are  given  to  the  great 
periods  of  history?  Why  were  these  names 
used?  A  class  can  discuss  the  meaning  of  a 
period  of  history  most  profitably.  American 
history  lends  itself  especially  well  to  this  dis- 
cussion. An  eighth  grade  will  enjoy  investigating 
the  question,  "Did  the  colonial  period  end  with 
the  Revolutionary  War  or  at  some  later  date?" 

The  examination  of  the  textbook  should  bring 
out  the  use  of  the  index  and  the  helps  in  pro- 
nunciation the  book  offers.  Too  many  children 
depend  on  the  teacher  to  pronounce  for  them  all 
new  or  difficult  words.  They  can  learn  easily  how 
to  use  the  pronouncing  index  and  are  generally 
proud  of  their  mastery  over  hard  or  difficult 
names. 

Interesting  material  in  the  appendix  should  be 
noticed.  Does  the  book  contain  any  great  docu- 
ments, as  the  Declaration  of  Independence  or  the 

23 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

Constitution?  Why  should  these  documents  be 
in  the  book?  Pictures  and  maps  should  be  ex- 
amined and  their  uses  discussed.  More  intensive 
study  of  this  material  will  come  in  the  later 
lessons.  The  value  of  the  footnotes  should  be 
emphasized.  Some  children  have  apparently 
never  been  taught  to  read  a  footnote  in  any  book. 
The  suggestions  for  review  work,  questions,  out- 
side reference  readings,  composition  subjects 
which  the  book  makes  should  be  noted  and  their 
value  discussed. 

One  chapter  might  be  read  to  show  the  way  the 
author  looks  at  the  subject,  the  kind  of  words  he 
uses,  the  topics  he  considers  important. 

This  serious  introduction  gives  a  class  a  respect 
for  and  an  interest  in  the  textbook  which  they 
never  feel  when  the  book  is  merely  a  source  of 
superficial  knowledge,  so  many  pages  of  "stuff" 
to  be  carelessly  read  each  day. 

The  amount  of  labor  and  thought  that  goes  to 
the  making  of  a  book  is  revealed  to  the  child. 
The  subject  as  well  as  the  book  appears  to  him  in 
a  broader,  deeper,  more  significant  light.  The 
book  becomes  an  instrument  that  he  has  learned 
to  use  for  his  own  benefit,  and  he  enjoys  his  per- 
sonal mastery  of  its  contents  and  its  possibilities. 


V 

THE  ASSIGNMENT  OF  THE  LESSON 

THE  teacher  who  says  hastily  as  the  bell  rings 
for  the  close  of  the  recitation,  "Take  the  next  six 
pages,  or  study  half  the  next  chapter,"  has  failed 
in  her  method  of  presentation  and  lost  an  oppor- 
tunity to  vitalize  the  next  day's  lesson. 

The  assignment  of  the  next  lesson  is  really  the 
fundamental  part  of  the  daily  work  and  is  espe- 
cially important  in  the  elementary  grades. 
'    Some  of  the  faults  in  lesson  assignment  which 
teachers  often  find  it  difficult  to  overcome  are:  — 

a.  Lack  of  sufficient  time  for  an  adequate 

study  of  the  advance  work. 

b.  Careless,  indefinite,  or  hastily  worded  as- 

signments. 

c.  Failure  to  emphasize  essential  points  or 

special  difficulties  in  the  new  material. 

d.  No  participation  by  the  class  in  the  lesson 

assignment. 

So  important  is  the  lesson  assignment  that 
some  successful  teachers  use  a  third  of  the  time 
of  the  recitation  period  in  preparation  for  the 

25 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

next  lesson.  Whether  the  beginning  or  end  of 
the  period  be  used  for  the  lesson  assignment  de- 
pends on  the  subject-matter  of  the  lesson. 

Ordinarily,  the  beginning  of  the  class  period 
seems  the  natural  time  for  this  work.  There  is 
less  sense  of  hurry.  The  class  and  the  teacher  are 
both  free  from  the  strain  and  excitement  of  the 
lesson  and  are  able  clearly  to  examine  the  new 
material.  It  is  practically  impossible  to  stop  an 
interesting  lesson  before  its  climax  has  been 
reached,  merely  to  discuss  the  next  day's  work. 
In  general,  therefore,  teachers  find  the  beginning 
of  the  period  the  better  time. 

However,  when  the  new  material  requires  the 
day's  lesson  to  be  clearly  understood,  it  is  wiser 
to  discuss  the  advance  at  the  close  of  the  period, 
but  the  teacher  should  see  to  it  that  sufficient 
time  be  given  fully  to  consider  the  new  work. 

As  the  history  lesson  is  taught  topically  the 
subject-matter  falls  in  natural  sequences.  The 
children  may  be  trained  to  decide  by  examination 
of  the  textbook  how  far  the  next  lesson  should 
properly  extend.  For  illustration,  if  the  lesson  is 
to  be  the  Bank  question  in  the  Administration 
of  Andrew  Jackson,  the  class  will  see  that  the 
subject  extends  into  the  Administration  of  Van 
Buren,  and  a  logical  assignment  of  material  will 
26 


ASSIGNMENT  OF  THE  LESSON 

be  made;  or  if  the  lesson  be  on  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  Act,  the  children  will  realize  the  ne- 
cessity of  studying  the  results  of  the  Act  and  will 
add  the  civil  war  in  Kansas  to  the  lesson  as  part 
of  the  topic  for  the  day. 

The  teacher  may  suggest  questions  or  problems 
whose  answers  lie  in  the  next  day's  lesson,  thus 
arousing  interest  in  the  solution  of  these  unknown 
topics. 

Sometimes  the  assignment  may  take  the  class 
into  material  in  other  parts  of  the  book.  After 
studying  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  a  class  may  look 
up  the  various  applications  of  the  Doctrine  in  the 
later  history.  This  will  involve  a  study  of  the 
index  and  other  parts  of  the  book,  or  the  use  of 
reference  material.  Children  enjoy  these  mental 
excursions  and  gain  power  in  handling  and  de- 
veloping a  topic. 

In  talking  over  the  next  lesson  with  a  class  the 
children  may  suggest  from  their  own  examina- 
tion of  the  text  special  points  to  be  studied.  If  a 
map  is  in  the  lesson,  what  use  shall  be  made  of  it? 
What  do  the  pictures  mean?  Why  are  they  used? 
What  special  references  are  to  be  read? 

This  is  the  time  to  arrange  for  various  class 
exercises  or  devices  or  special  topic  work,  to 
answer  questions  and  explain  difficulties. 
27 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

The  statement  of  all  requirements  either  to  the 
class  or  to  individual  pupils  should  be  very  clearly 
made.  All  teachers  know  by  experience  how  slow 
some  children  are  in  grasping  a  new  thought  or 
carrying  out  a  new  idea.  The  teacher  must  there- 
fore be  very  definite  in  her  language  and  explana- 
tions, and  especially  so  when  dealing  with  a  new 
method  or  giving  new  information. 

The  children  should  be  required  later  to  state 
what  the  lesson  is  and  show  why  it  was  assigned 
in  this  manner. 

Lesson  assignments  of  this  character,  instead 
of  being  perfunctory  and  mechanical  commands 
issued  by  the  teacher  and  received  by  the  pupils 
with  resentment  or  indifference,  become  inter- 
esting exercises  in  the  day's  work  in  which  all 
participate  and  all  enjoy. 


VI 

THE  STUDY  RECITATION 

Teaching  the  child  to  study 

ONE  of  the  universal  problems  the  teacher  meets 
in  her  work  is  the  inability  of  the  average  child 
to  study  a  lesson  and  recite  clearly  and  definitely 
upon  it.  "I  read  the  lesson  over  five  times"; 
"I  studied  for  two  hours  on  that  lesson";  "I 
thought  I  knew  it"  —  these  are  daily  comments 
one  hears  from  pupils  who  have  failed  in  the 
day's  work.  These  excuses  are  usually  sincere. 
The  pupil  has  tried  to  learn  the  lesson.  He  has 
made  a  definite  mental  effort,  but  he  has  failed 
because  he  did  not  know  how  to  attack  the 
problem.  This  difficulty  is  by  no  means  confined 
to  children  in  the  elementary  school.  It  is  appar- 
ent in  every  high-school  class,  and  many  students 
graduate  from  the  universities  who  do  not  know 
how  to  study. 

Therefore  the  sooner  the  boy  or  girl  in  the  ele- 
mentary school  is  taught  to  study,  the  better  for 
his  future  career. 

29 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

The  most  serious  difficulties  in  studying  a 
history  lesson  are  usually  caused  by:  — 

a.  No  real  comprehension  of  the  meaning  of 

the  words  of  the  text  or  reference  book. 

b.  Lack  of  attention  or  concentration  when 

reading. 

c.  Lack  of  analyzing  power,  no  ability  to  pick 

out  the  important  events  or  topics  in  a 
lesson. 

d.  Inability  to  see  the  relationship  of  cause  and 

effect  in  a  subject. 

e.  Bad  memorizing  habits,  the  result  of  poor 

teaching. 

/.  Tendency  to  depend  on  the  teacher  to  ex- 
plain the  lesson  in  class. 

How  little  children  really  understand  of  the 
meaning  of  the  text  they  are  reading  is  often 
startling  to  the  teacher  when  the  test  is  made. 
The  pupil  reads  the  words  glibly  enough,  but 
when  forced  to  explain  them  reveals  an  ignorance 
that  is  astonishing.  A  bright  girl  in  an  eighth 
grade  recently  recited  fluently  on  the  use  of  the 
"underground  railway"  by  fugitive  slaves.  An 
accidental  phrase,  however,  showed  that  she 
thought  the  "railway"  was  an  underground 
subway  actually  existing  in  the  earth.  Examina- 
tion of  the  class  discovered  a  third  of  the  pupils 
30 


THE  STUDY  RECITATION 

who  held  the  same  opinion.  The  boy  who  asked, 
"Why  do  they  always  send  clergymen  to  foreign 
countries?"  when  discussing  the  "X.  Y.  Z."  af- 
fair had  simply  never  grasped  the  various  mean- 
ings attached  to  the  word  "minister."  These 
mistakes  were  most  natural  ones. 

The  failure  to  understand  words  and  phrases 
used  in  the  books  deadens  interest  and  muddles 
the  child's  point  of  view.  Many  of  the  old  text- 
books were  written  in  a  style  and  with  a  vocabu- 
lary that  "darkened  counsel"  as  far  as  the  child 
was  concerned.  Even  if  trained  to  seek  refuge 
in  the  dictionary  when  in  trouble,  the  narrative 
had  no  power  to  hold  his  attention.  The  dull 
and  difficult  language  wearied  and  disgusted  him. 
Our  modern  elementary-school  books  are  written 
with  a  simplicity  of  language,  a  vigor  and  charm 
that  have  greatly  lessened  this  difficulty.  The 
teacher  should  carefully  attack  this  problem, 
however,  and  obtain  for  her  class  the  most  inter- 
esting and  the  best  written  textbook  if  she  is  for- 
tunate enough  to  have  a  voice  in  the  selection  of 
books. 

Children  naturally  find  it  difficult  to  concen- 
trate. The  incidents  of  the  classroom  or  affairs 
at  home  are  more  exciting  than  the  story  in  the 
book.  They  read  with  their  lips,  but  do  not  "in- 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

wardly  digest"  the  material.  Children  have  to 
be  trained  to  concentrate  as  they  are  trained  to 
add  or  multiply.  The  careful  reading  of  the  text 
twice  with  every  faculty  alert  is  worth  more  than 
reading  it  five  times  in  the  fashion  so  often  used 
in  school. 

That  children  do  not  discriminate  in  studying 
a  lesson  between  the  important  and  the  unes- 
sential is  the  result  of  a  lack  of  real  comprehen- 
sion of  the  subject.  A  child  is  asked  the  cause 
of  the  Revolution.  He  will  give  an  account  of  the 
Boston  Tea  Party,  the  one  dramatic  little  inci- 
dent meaning  more  to  him  than  the  abstract  dis- 
cussion of  the  British  system  of  taxation.  It  is 
only  after  he  understands  the  whole  situation 
clearly  that  his  mind  works  logically  and  he  is 
able  to  see  the  larger  event  from  the  smaller  or 
trace  the  relationship  we  call  "cause  and  effect." 

The  eagerness  with  which  a  child  will  tell  a 
story  or  anecdote  he  has  found  in  the  text,  in- 
stead of  knowing  the  really  vital  material  in  the 
lesson,  sometimes  discourages  the  teacher.  But 
the  use  of  the  outline,  the  effect  of  the  study 
recitation,  help  discrimination,  and  a  child  grad- 
ually learns  this  power  through  daily  thought 
and  practice. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  discuss  the  fatal 
32 


THE  STUDY  RECITATION 

result  on  the  child's  mind  of  the  purely  memo- 
rizing habit.  The  old  idea  of  studying  a  history 
lesson  by  learning  verbally  so  many  paragraphs 
in  the  textbook  has  become  extinct  in  all  well- 
taught  schools.  There  are  some  poems,  quota- 
tions, dates,  selections  from  documents  that  he 
should  know  "by  heart,"  but  the  failure  of  mere 
verbal  knowledge  of  the  words  of  a  book  to  de- 
velop thought  or  personal  expression  needs  no 
demonstration. 

If,  then,  the  question  of  studying  the  lesson 
successfully  be  such  a  difficult  one,  how  shall  the 
busy  elementary  teacher  meet  the  problem?  The 
study  recitation  is  a  helpful  method  which  can  be 
used  in  any  grade.  The  child  prepares  the  work 
with  the  teacher,  the  teacher  controlling  and 
directing  his  study. 

A  study  recitation  conducted  in  a  higher  ele- 
mentary grade  begins  with  a  silent  reading  of  the 
text.  The  presence  of  the  teacher  creates  con- 
centration and  forces  attention.  After  the  class 
has  read  over  the  material,  she  can  test  them  on 
then*  comprehension  of  the  words.  Paragraphs 
may  be  read  aloud  and  their  meaning  explained 
by  the  members  of  the  class.  Words  and  phrases 
not  understood  absolutely  should  be  made  clear 
by  the  use  of  the  dictionary  and  the  blackboard. 

33 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

Then  comes  the  training  in  the  development  of 
the  thought.  The  teacher  may  question,  the 
class  using  the  open  book.  What  are  the  most 
important  paragraphs?  Why?  What  events 
should  be  especially  studied?  What  events  in  the 
lesson  are  connected  with  one  another;  with 
events  which  we  have  studied  about  before?  etc. 

The  children  should  prove  to  their  own  satis- 
faction that  their  answers  are  correct. 

Geographical  allusions  should  be  looked  up. 
In  ordinary  study  a  pupil  will  read  the  word 
"Omaha"  in  the  text.  He  has  a  hazy  idea  of  its 
location,  but  he  does  not  take  the  trouble  to  find 
it  on  the  map.  When  the  recitation  comes  he  is 
unable  to  discover  the  city.  The  study  recitation 
teaches  him  that  geography  is  part  of  the  regular 
lesson. 

If  reference  reading  is  in  the  assignment,  the 
selections  may  be  read  aloud  by  different  mem- 
bers of  the  class  and  their  use  discussed.  A  poem 
or  piece  of  fiction  may  be  given  by  the  class  to  one 
of  its  members  for  special  study.  He  may  report 
on  this  later  or  recite  it  during  the  regular  recita- 
tion. Finally  an  outline  should  be  placed  on  the 
board,  the  class  deciding  what  the  topic  heads 
shall  be.  If  dates  are  necessary  they  should  be 
chosen  by  the  class  after  discussion  and  learned. 

34 


THE  STUDY  RECITATION 

Of  course  different  devices  or  different  exer- 
cises may  be  used  adapted  to  the  varying  needs 
of  the  different  children.  In  order  to  train  chil- 
dren in  concentration  a  good  exercise  is  to  give  a 
certain  amount  of  time  for  silent  reading  and  then 
have  the  children  place  on  the  board,  or  be  able 
to  talk  about,  the  essential  topics  they  have  dis- 
covered in  the  lesson. 

Some  pupils  will  do  much  more  than  others  in 
a  given  time.  The  teacher  can  then  help  the 
slower  children,  show  them  how  to  read  a  para- 
graph and  get  from  it  the  vital  thought. 

The  elementary  teacher  with  the  crowded 
schedule  will  ask  how  she  is  to  find  time  for  work 
like  this.  How  often  should  the  study  recitation 
take  place?  What  should  be  done  about  home 
study?  etc. 

Teaching  the  child  how  to  study  is  really  the 
most  important  part  of  the  teacher's  work. 
When  a  class  is  beginning  to  study  seriously  from 
books,  these  study  recitations  should  take  place  as 
often  as  the  teacher  feels  they  are  necessary.  Use 
them  even  if  some  of  the  "book  knowledge"  must 
be  sacrificed  and  if  some  of  the  recitation  tune  be 
omitted.  The  child  who  has  learned  to  study  will 
assimilate  material  much  more  rapidly  than  other 
children  and  little  time  will  be  lost  in  the  end. 

35 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

Until  a  child  has  been  taught  to  study  his 
history  lesson  properly,  home  study  is  often  a 
farce,  and  it  is  wiser  to  have  him  do  work  of  a 
different  character  at  home,  the  history  lesson 
being  learned  in  school. 

When  he  has  grasped  the  essentials,  the  teacher 
may  help  him  in  his  home  study  by  certain  exer- 
cises which  can  be  given  out  when  the  lesson  is 
assigned.  For  instance,  if  the  lesson  be  on  the 
settlement  of  New  Jersey,  the  teacher  may  ask 
the  child  to  bring  in  a  little  diagram  or  drawing 
showing  the  different  persons  who  ruled  the 
colony  and  the  kinds  of  government  they  estab- 
lished. The  material  on  New  Jersey  in  the  text- 
book is  usually  brief  and  uninteresting.  The 
effort  to  make  a  little  drawing  or  diagram  at 
home  that  will  represent  New  Jersey's  past  his- 
tory will  force  the  child  to  concentrate  on  the 
text.  He  will  pick  it  out  topically  and  in  making 
his  drawing  he  will  learn  the  lesson. 

Outlines  made  at  home  from  the  text  are  help- 
ful in  teaching  children  to  study.  Composition 
work  is  useful  when  the  subject-matter  has  to  be 
found  from  several  books. 

The  teacher  must,  of  course,  guard  against  too 
difficult  exercises  or  too  long  assignments.  The 
process  of  teaching  children  to  study  is  a  difficult 
36 


THE  STUDY  RECITATION 

one,  but  it  is  eminently  worth  while.  It  is  a  wise 
arrangement  of  time  to  shorten  the  period  of 
"hearing"  the  lesson  recited  and  introduce  more 
definite  and  intelligent  instruction  on  how  to 
study  the  lesson. 

If  results  are  often  disheartening  and  develop- 
ment in  this  line  seems  slow  and  irregular,  the 
teacher  must  not  be  discouraged.  Do  not  expect 
too  much  at  first,  but  believe  that  effort  in  this 
direction  is  the  foundation  of  education. 


VII 

THE  USE  OF  OUTSIDE  READING 

IN  the  children's  reading-room  of  a  city  library 
not  long  ago,  a  ragged  little  boy  inquired  for  a 
book  "about  Robin  Hood  and  King  John."  He 
went  away  happy  with  Howard  Pyle's  classic 
under  his  arm.  A  moment  or  two  later  another 
boy  whose  face  and  accent  showed  his  foreign 
parentage  demanded  the  Life  of  Napoleon.  He 
was  followed  by  a  little  girl  who  wanted  to  see 
a  picture  of  Queen  Elizabeth:  "A  colored  one, 
please,  to  show  my  class." 

The  librarian  in  charge  said  with  a  smile  to 
an  interested  observer:  "It  is  wonderful  how 
much  history  they  read.  The  schools  do  it,  you 
see."  Surely  no  finer  tribute  could  have  been 
paid  those  schools.  They  were  giving  their  pu- 
pils the  reading  habit  which  means  knowledge, 
pleasure,  and  lifelong  inspiration. 

Outside  reading  should  be  a  vital  factor  in  all 

history  work  in  the  elementary  school  as  well  as 

in  the  high  school.  It  gives  the  child  a  different 

point  of  view  from  the  textbook  and  educates 

38 


OUTSIDE  READING 

him  in  thinking  for  himself.  The  boy  or  girl  who 
is  able  to  explain  an  allusion  in  the  lesson  from 
his  reference  reading,  or  even  to  criticize  the 
statements  of  the  textbook,  has  developed  his 
judgment  and  mental  power.  Reference  reading 
also  teaches  the  practical  use  of  libraries,  indexes, 
card  catalogues,  and  bibliographies. 

Although  it  is  impossible  to  do  all  the  reading 
suggested  by  many  textbook  authors,  some  of  it 
should  be  surely  done  if  the  books  can  be  pro- 
cured. The  class  who  uses  one  textbook  only  and 
has  never  attempted  any  reference  work  has  lost 
many  delightful  moments. 

The  arrangement  of  recommended  readings 
may  be  classified  under:  (i)  Source  books;  (2) 
general,  simple  works  covering  the  whole  field; 
(3)  the  fuller  histories;  (4)  the  standard  histories; 
(5)  books  on  special  topics;  (6)  biography;  (7) 
poetry;  (8)  fiction. 

Source  readings,  or  selections  from  material 
written  by  persons  at  the  time  of  an  event,  are 
often  considered  too  difficult  for  elementary- 
grade  work  and  few  teachers  use  them. 

There  are  source  readings,  however,  which 
pupils  in  the  seventh  or  eighth,  or  even  the  sixth, 
grade  can  thoroughly  understand  and  enjoy. 
Nothing  so  illuminates  and  makes  real  the  past 

39 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

as  a  good  source  selection.  After  reading  "At 
Washington's  Headquarters,"  a  description  of  a 
dinner  at  Morristown  with  the  General  written 
by  a  French  officer,  a  little  girl  said  eagerly: 
"Just  think  of  Washington  sitting  at  the  table 
eating  nuts  and  making  jokes  for  two  hours.  It 
makes  him  so  alive." 

An  eighth-grade  boy  read  aloud  Dickens's 
account  of  his  journey  on  one  of  the  early 
Potomac  steamboats,  and  the  class  laughed 
heartily  over  the  clever  satire  and  the  crude  con- 
ditions so  humorously  portrayed.  Dr.  Waldo's 
description  of  his  life  at  Valley  Forge,  the  smoky 
cakes  cooked  out-of-doors,  the  bitter  cold,  and 
the  way  he  darned  his  stockings,  impress  the  his- 
toric scene  on  the  children  far  more  forcibly  than 
the  most  eloquent  paragraph  in  the  textbook. 

Even  the  old  English  and  quaint  spelling  of 
some  sources  are  not  impossible  for  children  if 
they  are  carefully  explained.  Parts  of  the  so- 
called  "Diary  of  Columbus,"  Marquette's  ac- 
count of  his  voyage  down  the  Mississippi,  or 
Juet's  "Discovery  of  the  Hudson,"  are  usable 
examples  of  sources  that  make  the  past  "alive." 
Such  a  book  as  Hart's  Source  Book  of  American 
History,  from  which  these  illustrations  are  drawn, 
is  invaluable  in  teaching  American  history. 
40 


OUTSIDE  READING 

In  lower  grades  studying  European  hero 
stories  some  sources  can  be  used  occasionally. 
The  children  enjoy  reading  parts  of  the  Odyssey 
or  Plutarch's  Lives  and  many  of  the  folk-lore 
stories.  The  correlation  of  history  with  literature 
is  here  especially  possible  and  delightful. 

The  teacher  should  never  use  sources  that  her 
pupils  cannot  thoroughly  comprehend  and  dis- 
cuss. A  good  textbook  generally  suggests  source 
readings  which  are  practical,  but  the  teacher 
should  examine  every  selection  before  it  is  as- 
signed to  the  class. 

Even  if  a  teacher  finds  it  difficult  to  procure  or 
use  the  sources,  she  can  certainly  provide  the 
class  with  several  copies  of  different  textbooks. 
The  children  can  use  these  books  for  daily  refer- 
ence and  read  over  the  lesson  in  them.  They 
soon  learn  to  compare  statements  and  points  of 
view,  and  the  class  discussion  is  broadened  and 
brightened.  In  using  these  other  texts,  they 
should  know  titles  and  authors  and  be  able  to 
pick  out  the  strong  points  of  the  different  books. 
They  develop  the  critical  faculty  rapidly  and 
will  soon  say  that  one  book  "has  better  descrip- 
tions in  it,"  another  more  interesting  pictures, 
or  a  third  is  "easy  to  understand,"  etc.  This 
comparative  study  is  valuable  and  interesting, 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

and  the  children  are  especially  happy  when  they 
are  able  to  correct  a  statement  or  present  another 
explanation  of  an  event  from  the  one  advanced 
by  their  one  textbook. 

In  the  use  of  the  larger  histories  or  biographies, 
the  teacher  may  arouse  the  class  interest  by 
reading  aloud  some  vivid  or  well-written  de- 
scription of  a  historical  scene  from  an  author 
like  Parkman,  Winsor,  Fiske,  Elson,  or  Rhodes. 
They  will  enjoy  the  color  and  detail  and  uncon- 
sciously the  style. 

The  teacher  may  talk  about  the  book  and 
the  author,  and  later  other  selections  may  be 
occasionally  read  by  various  members  of  the 
class.  Even  if  the  majority  of  the  children  read 
but  a  few  pages  in  these  books,  they  are  intro- 
duced to  the  great  writers  and  know  their  names 
and  realize  their  power. 

In  presenting  special  topics  to  the  class,  the 
child  who  gives  the  topic  should  do  some  refer- 
ence work.  When  he  presents  it,  he  should  state 
the  names  of  the  authors  he  has  read,  the  book 
or  books  used.  This  trains  both  the  speaker  and 
the  class  in  estimating  the  value  of  authority. 
The  bright  little  twelve-year-old  who,  when  the 
class  disputed  his  statements  about  the  battle  of 
Saratoga,  answered  proudly,  "John  Fiske  says  so 
42 


OUTSIDE  READING 

and  he  ought  to  know,"  had  confidence  in  his 
own  research  work. 

In  the  great  field  of  fiction  and  poetry  there  are 
unlimited  treasures  for  the  child.  Some  famous 
historical  stories,  such  as  The  Man  Without  a 
Country,  The  Perfect  Tribute,  Page's  Two  Little 
Confederates,  should  be  read  by  every  elementary- 
school  pupil.  Paul  Revere's  Ride,  The  Song  of 
Marion's  Men,  Captain,  My  Captain,  The  Blue 
and  the  Gray,  the  closing  lines  of  Lowell's  Com- 
memoration Ode,  are  well-known  examples  of 
historical  poems  that  should  be  familiar  to  every 
class. 

The  story  or  the  poem  should  be  introduced  as 
part  of  the  lesson  and  should  be  associated  with 
the  person  or  event  it  commemorates.  Many  of 
these  selections  are  used  for  recitations  on  special 
days  or  in  school  celebrations;  nevertheless,  it 
does  not  hurt  to  repeat  them,  and  their  presenta- 
tion in  the  class  recitation  enlivens  and  varies  the 
class  period. 

One  form  of  outside  reference  work  which 
should  be  cultivated  when  the  material  is  within 
the  reach  of  the  class  is  the  magazine  or  newspaper 
reference.  Interesting  pictures,  short  articles  on 
historical  subjects  which  appear  in  the  good 
magazines  or  Sunday  editions  of  the  newspapers, 
43 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

are  often  useful  and  interesting  to  the  children. 
In  some  communities  pupils  in  the  higher  ele- 
mentary grades  are  able  to  contribute  a  good 
deal  of  such  material.  It  should  be  placed  on  the 
bulletin  board  and  discussed  in  the  class  recita- 
tion. 

In  using  the  newspaper  and  magazine  articles, 
however,  teach  the  children  to  ask  the  question, 
"Is  it  true?"  While  many  articles  are  valuable 
and  enjoyable,  the  idea  that  whatever  is  printed 
is  true  should  be  carefully  eradicated  from  the 
child's  mind. 

Children  are,  of  course,  unable  to  estimate  the 
truth  or  falsity  of  statements  in  a  newspaper,  but 
they  can  be  shown  by  references  to  textbooks  or 
authentic  histories  how  information  may  be 
tested.  The  teacher  should  prove  to  a  boy  who 
brings  an  inaccurate  or  sensational  article  to 
class  how  worthless  such  material  really  is.  No 
lesson  is  more  valuable  than  this.  Many  of  the 
superficial  judgments  and  ignorant  prejudices  we 
find  among  adult  thinkers  are  born  of  credulity 
and  careless  newspaper  reading.  If  the  history 
lesson  teaches  the  child  early  in  life  to  weigh 
evidence  before  he  accepts  a  statement,  it  has 
justified  its  place  in  the  educational  curriculum. 

Teachers  in  country  schools  or  in  towns  pos- 

44 


OUTSIDE  READING 

sessing  no  public  library  may  acknowledge  the 
value  of  outside  reading,  but  find  themselves 
very  scantily  supplied  with  necessary  books. 

By  giving  a  few  school  or  class  entertainments 
a  little  money  may  be  raised  for  a  library,  and 
fifteen  or  twenty  dollars  carefully  expended  will 
give  much  pleasure  to  a  class.  This  library  should 
be  in  the  classroom  on  open  shelves  accessi- 
ble to  all  the  children.  Many  a  restless  boy  or 
whispering  girl  would  be  less  of  a  problem  to  the 
teacher  if  some  interesting  books  were  in  the 
room  which  they  could  use  freely  in  study  periods. 
If  the  books  are  easy  of  access,  the  pupils  will 
read  much  more  than  the  assigned  work. 

If  the  teacher  uses  a  city  or  town  library,  books 
for  the  classroom  may  be  obtained  at  a  loan 
library  and  kept  for  a  certain  time  by  permission 
of  the  library  authorities.  Many  city  libraries 
are  most  helpful  assistants  in  history  teaching 
and  will  supply  pictures,  maps,  and  excellent 
illustrative  material  when  asked  for  aid. 

The  teacher  should  show  her  class  how  to  use 
the  library  itself.  She  can  explain  how  card 
catalogues  are  used,  how  the  books  are  to  be 
asked  for,  how  books  must  be  cared  for.  She 
should  visit  the  library  with  the  children  and 
demonstrate  the  method  to  them. 

45 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

While  the  familiar,  daily  use  of  a  large  city 
library  is  very  valuable  to  a  group  of  children,  the 
intimate*  intensive  effect  of  the  small  classroom 
bookshelf  is  often  more  practical  and  vital  in  its 
results. 

Elementary-school  teachers  are  very  busy 
persons  and  have  little  time  for  much  personal 
outside  reading;  but  the  teacher  who  desires  to 
bring  charm  and  power  to  her  work  must  refresh 
herself  at  the  sources  of  inspiration.  She  must 
know  more  than  the  textbook,  whatever  grade 
she  teaches. 

In  order  to  assign  reference  reading  properly  or 
interest  the  children  in  books,  she  must  herself 
be  a  lover  of  "noble  words."  The  occasional 
reading  of  a  good  historical  novel,  a  chapter  from 
a  good  history,  the  newspaper  and  the  magazine 
will  give  her  the  refreshment,  the  mental  out- 
look, the  vision  that  means  success  in  teaching. 


VIII 

THE  RECITATION  t 

THE  recitation  in  history  teaching  is  the  time 
when  the  child  expresses  his  own  conception  of 
the  knowledge  he  has  gathered. 

In  the  recitation  he  shows  the  results  of  his 
study,  his  power  of  assimilation,  his  ability  to 
clothe  his  ideas  in  words,  his  sense  of  cause  and 
effect  and  of  the  relationship  of  events. 

The  recitation  should  develop  and  broaden  his 
outlook,  correct  his  mistakes,  suggest  new  lines 
of  thought,  create  enthusiasm,  and  especially 
help  him  to  express  himself. 

Too  often  the  recitation  is  merely  a  mechani- 
cal device  through  which  the  teacher  discovers 
whether  the  child  has  learned  the  information 
in  a  certain  textbook.  Even  if  the  old-fashioned 
"parrot  recitation  "  -  i.e.,  children  repeating  lit- 
erally the  words  or  paragraphs  in  a  book  —  has 
been  discarded,  the  lesson  is  still  conducted  in  a 
manner  that  offers  little  mental  development  to 
the  pupil.  The  teacher  asks  questions,  the  chil- 
dren answer  them  as  briefly  as  possible.  The 

47 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

teacher  sometimes  talks  or  explains  the  principal 
topic  in  the  lesson,  the  children  taking  very  little 
part  in  the  exercise,  which  really  becomes  a 
recitation  by  the  teacher  to  the  class. 

The  conduct  of  the  recitation  is  therefore  a 
practical  problem  in  pedagogy  whose  successful 
solution  demands  the  most  careful  preparation 
on  the  teacher's  part.  It  means  originality  in 
questioning,  variety  in  method,  the  power  to 
arouse  in  the  child  his  natural  reasoning  ability 
and  his  fondness  for  discussion.  It  must  present 
knowledge  as  an  organic  whole,  yet  allow  for  the 
halting  statements  and  the  slow  thought  processes 
of  the  immature  mind.  The  teacher  must  not 
do  the  work,  yet  on  the  other  hand  much  outside 
information  must  necessarily  come  through  the 
medium  of  the  teacher. 

How,  then,  is  this  balance  to  be  preserved? 
How  shall  the  recitation  become  a  stimulant  to 
the  pupil?  How  teach  him  to  work,  how  create 
in  him  a  desire  for  self-expression,  how  help  him 
to  see  the  true  values  in  the  material  he  has 
studied? 

No  one  method  can  be  used  absolutely  or  con- 
tinuously. Different  kinds  of  subject-matter 
need  different  treatments,  but  certain  suggestions 
may  be  helpful. 

48 


THE  RECITATION 

Among  the  various  types  of  recitations  used  in 
the  elementary  schools  we  find  the  question-and- 
answer  recitation,  the  topical  recitation,  the  class 
discussion  of  a  subject,  sometimes  called  the 
socialized  recitation,  and  too  often  the  teacher 
recitation  or  the  recitation  which  is  largely  a  lec- 
ture by  the  teacher  to  the  class. 

The  question-and-answer  recitation  means  that 
the  teacher  questions  on  the  text  or  the  assigned 
work  and  the  pupils  answer  these  questions. 
There  are  certain  kinds  of  material  where  such 
a  method  is  valuable  and  interesting,  but  the 
value  depends  upon  the  nature  of  the  questions 
asked  and  the  kind  of  answer  that  is  accepted. 
Questions  on  the  assigned  text  that  ask  only  for 
facts  in  the  book,  or  questions  which  follow  the 
textbook  topics,  are  of  little  real  value.  They 
carry  no  mental  stimulus  and  cause  no  thought 
reaction.  If  the  book  states  that  the  Alien  and 
Sedition  Laws  in  John  Adams's  Administration 
were  very  unpopular,  the  question,  "What  were 
the  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws?"  or  even,  "Why 
were  the  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws  unpopular?" 
does  not  especially  interest  the  child.  The 
teacher  is  merely  asking  for  facts,  but  if  the 
question  be  asked,  "Why  is  it  said  that  now  the 
Federalist  Party  committed  suicide?  "  every  child 

49 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

will  be  eager  to  express  an  opinion  and  the  ob- 
noxious laws  will  receive  full  attention. 

Questions  on  the  text  should  be  as  original  as 
possible  and  should  demand  some  thought  on 
the  pupil's  part.  The  "yes-or-no"  question,  the 
question  that  suggests  the  answer,  the  vague 
question,  the  question  stated  in  language  the 
child  does  not  fully  understand,  the  question 
which  uses  the  words  of  the  book,  should  all  be 
carefully  avoided. 

Questions  that  combine  the  facts  in  some  new 
form,  questions  involving  comparison,  questions 
that  link  the  present  to  the  past,  are  all  useful 
and  interesting. 

Such  questions  as,  "Was  the  United  States  jus- 
tified in  declaring  war  against  Mexico  in  1846?  " 
"  Was  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  fair  to  the  South?" 
"What  did  the  Government  learn  from  the  panic 
of  1837?"  "What  steps  were  taken  to  settle  the 
slavery  question  peaceably?"  "Why  were  they 
not  effective?"  "Did  the  Western  people  favor 
nationalism  or  state  sovereignty?  Why?"  "Why 
did  people  say  in  1860,  'Oh,  for  one  day  of 
Andrew  Jackson'?"  are  stimulating  to  children 
even  if  they  answer  them  crudely  and  unsatis- 
factorily. 

Definite  drill  questions  must  occasionally  be 
50 


THE  RECITATION 

asked,  but  usually  the  same  results  may  be  ob- 
tained by  varying  the  form  of  the  question  so  as 
to  present  the  old  idea  in  some  novel  or  attractive 
guise. 

The  ability  to  frame  desirable  and  worth- 
while questions  is  a  considerable  art,  but  it  is 
easily  gained  by  practice,  and  teachers  who 
possess  this  power  enjoy  the  vigorous  response  it 
develops  in  a  class. 

The  form  in  which  the  child  answers  the  teach- 
er's question  is  in  itself  a  factor  in  education. 
Many  teachers  permit  children  to  answer  ques- 
tions in  monosyllables,  or  in  short,  fragmentary 
phrases.  No  effort  is  made  to  insist  upon  a  clear 
and  definite  expression  of  the  child's  thought  in 
sentence  form.  The  pitiful  scarcity  of  words  that 
is  so  evident  in  the  American  vocabulary  to-day 
has  one  of  its  sources  in  the  meager  answers  and 
slip-shod  expressions  that  are  received  by  teach- 
ers in  the  schools. 

Lincoln,  Washington,  Daniel  Boone,  or  Henry 
Clay  are  all  designated  as  "good  men,"  every 
soldier  is  "brave,"  each  event  is  said  to  be 
"important." 

Some  children  apparently  pass  through  their 
elementary-school  career  laden  with  less  than  a 
half-dozen  adjectives  as  their  rhetorical  baggage 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

for  all  recitations.  They  should  be  taught  that 
it  is  as  ridiculous  to  label  historical  personages 
with  the  same  words  as  it  would  be  to  dress  them 
all  in  the  same  costume. 

The  development  of  the  answer  requires  con- 
stant vigilance  and  considerable  hard  work  on 
the  teacher's  part.  It  is  often  easier  to  accept  a 
few  faltering  words  than  to  struggle  with  the  shy, 
nervous,  or  stupid  intelligence  which  has  evoked 
them.  However,  the  teacher  who  patiently  in- 
sists upon  the  full  or  the  thoughtful  answer  will 
be  rewarded  in  time  by  the  growth  on  the  child's 
part  of  word  power,  and  a  sense  of  word  dis- 
crimination and  word  values  will  be  evident  in 
his  thinking. 

The  topical  recitation,  which  is  much  used  in 
the  higher  elementary  grades,  is  well  fitted  to 
develop  both  thought  and  language.  The  topics 
may  have  been  arranged  by  the  children  in  an 
outline  during  a  study  recitation,  or  they  may 
have  been  developed  by  the  class  recitation; 
they  may  have  been  studied  at  home  or  in  school; 
but  in  order  to  recite  upon  them  the  child  must 
exert  himself  mentally.  He  has  first  to  find  the 
necessary  material;  secondly,  he  must  organize 
this  so  that  he  understands  it;  then  he  must  be 
able  to  talk  about  it  more  or  less  fluently. 
52 


THE  RECITATION 

This  effort  to  bring  together  material  separated 
by  different  paragraphs  into  a  definite  thought 
connection  is  valuable  mental  discipline. 

When  the  boy  who  is  studying  the  Missouri 
Compromise  gathers  under  his  topic  heading, 
through  his  own  independent  work,  the  inven- 
tion of  the  cotton  gin,  the  Louisiana  Purchase, 
and  the  migration  to  the  West,  he  is  really  think- 
ing. In  his  effort  to  relate  these  events  and  talk 
about  them  he  develops  a  mental  grasp  on  his- 
torical sequences  which  finds  its  outlet  in  some 
form  of  expression.  He  has  something  to  say, 
therefore  he  is  able  to  say  it,  and  the  teacher 
should  urge  him  to  discuss  the  topic  as  he  has 
arranged  it  fully  before  the  class  and  explain  his 
thought  connections  and  conclusions.  The  topi- 
cal recitation  has  therefore  developed  the  boy's 
logical  ability,  his  knowledge  of  the  relationship 
of  events,  and  his  power  to  use  the  English  lan- 
guage. 

The  special  topic,  where  the  child  examines 
facts  for  himself,  usually  from  outside  material, 
and  then  presents  to  his  class  what  he  has  gained, 
is  excellent  practice  in  organization  and  power  of 
expression. 

Suppose  the  lesson  touched  on  the  "Open  Door 
in  China,"  in  the  McKinley  Administration,  the 

53 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

special  topic  discussed  by  some  pupil  might  be 
China  To-day.  He  would  look  up  in  newspapers 
and  magazines  present-day  conditions  in  China 
and  sketch  these  to  his  class  in  an  interesting  little 
talk.  Such  work  illuminates  and  supplements  the 
textbook  and  gives  color  to  the  recitation. 

The  special  topic  must,  however,  be  chosen 
with  care.  The  mere  expansion  of  a  textbook 
paragraph  or  the  introduction  of  a  few  new  de- 
tails into  the  textbook  story  is  not  a  true  special 
topic.  The  pupil  should  offer  a  genuine  contribu- 
tion to  the  class.  Either  a  new  point  of  view  of  a 
familiar  subject  or  new  subject-matter. 

In  assigning  special  topics  an  interesting  title 
will  accentuate  the  value  of  the  topic  to  the  class; 
instead  of  a  pupil's  reciting  on  the  life  of  John 
Marshall,  the  statement  that,  "John  Marshall 
found  the  Constitution  paper  and  made  it  power, 
found  it  a  skeleton  and  clothed  it  with  flesh  and 
blood,"  will  arouse  class  curiosity  and  the  pupil 
who  explains  the  quotation  will  find  an  interested 
audience.  Such  a  topic  as  "the  comparison  of 
Washington's  neutrality  troubles  with  those  of 
the  present  day"  is  not  too  difficult  for  an  eighth 
grade  and  will  greatly  enliven  the  history  of 
Washington's  Administration. 

When  the  class  takes  up  the  Monroe  Doctrine, 

54 


THE  RECITATION 

a  special  topic  on  the  word  "  Pan- Americanism  " 
would  link  the  past  and  the  present. 

If  the  invention  of  the  telegraph  is  in  the  les- 
son, a  topic  on  the  "wireless"  or  a  comparison  of 
Morse  with  Marconi  should  be  given. 

While  the  topical  recitation  has  many  excellent 
qualities,  yet  its  constant  use  may  result  in  for- 
mality and  monotony. 

An  interesting  and  vitalizing  recitation  that 
may  be  used  in  the  higher  grades  is  the  social- 
ized recitation,  or  the  recitation  conducted  by  the 
pupils  themselves. 

Let  the  class  prepare  to  teach  the  lesson  and 
come  with  questions  to  ask  and  problems  to  be 
settled.  Different  pupils  may  preside  during  the 
period.  Questions  are  propounded  by  the  children 
for  open  class  discussion.  Various  points  may  be 
taken  up  in  argument  and  the  members  of  the 
class  will  seek  to  convince  one  another. 

If  they  are  carefully  guided,  this  form  of  reci- 
tation becomes  a  lively  and  exciting  exercise  and 
is  much  enjoyed  by  the  children. 

This  method  of  recitation  is  well  suited  to  re- 
views where  the  class  is  already  in  possession  of 
a  certain  amount  of  definite  information,  or  it  is 
useful  when  the  textbook  lesson  offers  material 
that  has  in  it  some  debatable  questions.  Such  a 

55 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

lesson  as  the  period  after  the  Civil  War  known 
as  the  "Reconstruction  Period,"  which  involves 
a  discussion  of  the  treatment  of  the  South  by 
Congress  and  the  difficulties  that  led  to  the  im- 
peachment of  Andrew  Johnson,  would  be  excel- 
lent material  for  a  socialized  lesson. 

The  "Critical  Period"  after  the  Revolution, 
when  the  colonies  endured  the  chaos  and  disor- 
der which  results  from  inefficient  government,  is 
another  interesting  topic  that  would  work  well 
in  a  socialized  recitation. 

The  danger  in  such  an  exercise  is  the  tendency 
of  one  group  of  children  to  monopolize  the  lesson 
time  while  the  shy  or  backward  children  take 
little  part  in  the  discussion. 

The  pupils  who  lead  the  recitation  must  be 
cautioned  about  this  difficulty  and  urged  to  ask 
general  questions.  Many  children  are  natural 
teachers  and  will  be  remarkably  successful  in 
developing  the  power  to  think  in  their  compan- 
ions, while  a  diffident  boy  or  girl  will  sometimes 
respond  to  the  stimulus  of  the  pupil  leader  more 
easily  than  to  the  expert  questioning  of  the 
teacher. 

Combinations  of  the  various  types  of  recitation 
may  be  used  to  give  novelty  and  variety  to  the 
daily  work. 

56 


THE  RECITATION 

The  prevalence  of  the  so-called  "teacher  recita- 
tion" has  been  much  criticized  by  modern  edu- 
cators. This  very  common  and  natural  evil 
arises  from  several  causes.  The  time  is  limited 
and  the  teacher  can  "pour  it  in"  more  quickly 
herself  than  obtain  results  by  the  slow  processes 
of  individual  development. 

Frequently  the  teacher's  enthusiasm  and  inter- 
est in  the  subject  will  cause  an  over-amplifica- 
tion and  illustration  of  the  lesson  material.  The 
scholarly,  over-zealous  teacher  is  the  one  who 
usually  becomes  the  victim  of  the  talking  habit. 

In  a  recently  published  study  of  conditions 
based  on  the  examination  of  many  high-school 
history  recitations,  the  percentage  of  teacher  ac- 
tivity to  pupil  activity  averaged  about  sixty-, 
two  per  cent  to  thirty-eight  per  cent.  In  other 
words,  in  a  thirty-minute  recitation  the  teacher 
used  twenty-four  and  eight  tenths  of  the  time 
and  the  class  fifteen  and  two  tenths  of  it.  While 
this  special  test  was  made  in  high  schools,  the 
same  results  might  have  been  obtained  in  history 
lessons  taught  in  the  grammar  grades.  Every 
thoughtful  teacher  will  be  easily  convinced  of  the 
danger  of  such  a  method  in  education.  Talking 
is  not  teaching.  The  children  cease  to  exert  them- 
selves mentally.  Their  natural  instinct  for  self- 

57 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

expression  is  suppressed  and  the  lesson  produces 
a  kind  of  mental  passivity  on  the  child's  part. 
He  has  gained,  perhaps,  some  new  knowledge,  but 
he  did  not  gain  it  for  himself. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  legitimate  occa- 
sions when  a  little  talk  by  the  teacher  on  a  topic 
in  the  lesson  is  a  most  precious  and  stimulating 
gift  to  a  class.  A  vivid  word  picture  of  a  great 
event,  the  clear  exposition  of  a  hard  problem  in 
the  lesson,  the  presentation  of  new  light  on  a 
question,  these  manifestations  of  the  teacher's 
power  will  often  give  fresh  life  to  the  subjects. 

The  teacher  must  not  be  afraid  to  use  her 
greater  knowledge  and  abundant  resources  occa- 
sionally in  the  classroom;  what  she  must  guard 
against  is  the  over-use  of  this  power. 

It  is  really  worth  more  to  the  child  to  reason 
out  laboriously  the  causes  for  the  differing  points 
of  view  of  the  North  and  South  on  the  tariff 
question  than  to  listen  to  an  explanation,  how- 
ever brilliantly  expressed  by  the  teacher. 

The  boy's  conclusions  may  be  meager  and  in- 
adequate, yet  in  his  future  life  he  must  meet  and 
solve  just  such  questions.  As  a  voter,  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  civic  community  in  which  he  lives,  he 
will  be  forced  to  think  about  social  and  political 
problems;  therefore  the  most  effective  training 

58 


THE  RECITATION 

his  school  life  can  give  him  in  preparation  for  the 
future  is  to  teach  him  to  be  an  independent 
thinker. 

The  point  of  view  in  the  choice  of  material  for  the 
recitation  in  the  higher  elementary  grades 

One  most  important  educational  function  of 
the  teacher  in  the  seventh  or  eighth  grade  is  the 
exercise  of  the  historical  judgment  in  the  choice 
of  the  subject-matter  presented  to  the  class. 

The  teacher  who  dwells  on  the  political  or  mili- 
tary events  of  history  and  does  not  develop  the 
economic  or  social  life  of  a  period  is  out  of  har- 
mony with  modern  thought. 

No  matter  what  the  textbook  may  offer,  the 
teacher  must  see  to  it  that  the  children  do  not 
receive  a  one-sided  and  unscientific  conception  of 
the  past. 

As  this  is  the  only  history  ever  seriously 
studied  by  many  American  children,  the  responsi- 
bility of  the  teacher  for  a  truthful  presentation  is 
great  indeed.  In  the  treatment  of  seventh-grade 
material  the  social  elements  should  be  largely 
stressed.  How  the  people  lived  in  the  colonies, 
their  modes  of  dress,  their  business  methods, 
their  religious  customs,  their  pleasures,  their  ways 
of  travel,  should  be  dwelt  upon.  While  colonial 
59 


THE  TEACHING   OF  HISTORY 

politics  need  not  be  studied,  a  seventh  grade 
should  understand  enough  about  a  typical  co- 
lonial government  to  see  that  the  State  Gov- 
ernments of  to-day  are  directly  descended  from 
the  old  colonial  system.  The  simplest  outline  on 
the  board  will  reveal  this  to  a  class  and  teach 
them  the  continuity  of  history.  The  false  idea 
that  the  colonists  were  horribly  oppressed  by  the 
mother  country  until  the  Revolution  set  them 
free  should  be  eradicated. 

In  discussing  the  causes  of  the  Revolution  in- 
teresting devices  'and  stimulating  questions  may 
be  used  to  bring  out  both  sides  in  that  famous 
controversy. 

A  class  should  be  taught  the  modern  attitude 
toward  the  Revolution,  which  is  that  the  Revo- 
lution was  really  a  Civil  War.  Many  English- 
men, as  Pitt  and  Burke,  sympathized  with  the 
colonists,  while  in  America  thousands  of  persons 
disliked  separation  and  believed  the  cause  of  the 
mother  country  the  just  one.  Hatred  of  England 
and  the  inculcation  of  false  and  one-sided  opin- 
ions should  be  carefully  avoided.  Much  of  the 
unreasoning  dislike  of  Great  Britain  found  among 
certain  Americans  to-day  is  due  to  the  erroneous 
teaching  they  have  received  in  the  elementary 
schools. 

60 


THE  RECITATION 

While  showing  the  justice  of  the  American 
cause,  the  English  arguments  should  be  clearly 
understood. 

Members  of  a  class  will  enjoy  personifying 
speakers  in  the  British  Parliament  who  are  urging 
the  passage  of  the  Stamp  Act,  as  well  as  their 
antagonists  in  America  who  are  advocating  its 
repeal  in  the  Colonial  Congress. 

The  modern  government  of  colonies  is  an 
excellent  special  topic  to  study  during  this 
period.  "How  Canada  and  Australia  are  gov- 
erned to-day,"  "How  the  United  States  gov- 
erns the  Philippines,"  are  interesting  subjects  to 
present  to  a  class. 

No  period  in  history  is  richer  in  biographical 
studies  than  the  Revolution.  Many  fascinating 
comparisons  are  possible  here.  George  III  and 
Samuel  Adams,  Andre  and  Nathan  Hale,  General 
Gates  and  General  Schuyler,  Franklin  discussing 
politics  with  Louis  XVI,  Marion  and  Cornwallis 
in  the  Carolinas,  are  illustrations  of  the  dramatic 
and  personal  element  whose  study  by  the  children 
will  add  flavor  to  the  well-known  narrative. 

While  local  conditions  should  influence  the 
study  of  military  events,  there  are  certain  defi- 
nite battles  or  campaigns,  as  the  battle  of  Tren- 
ton or  the  Burgoyne  campaign,  whose  historical 
61 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

effects  demand  that  their  story  be  studied  by  a 
class. 

To  eliminate  all  military  history  would  be 
as  unhistorical  as  to  study  only  military  history. 
The  Declaration  of  Independence  without  Valley 
Forge  would  be  a  study  of  a  dead  document. 
One  is  as  necessary  as  the  other. 

In  the  critical  and  formative  period  which 
followed  the  Revolution,  a  seventh  grade  can 
clearly  understand  the  economic  storm  and  stress 
of  the  times  and  the  dangerous  problems  that 
confronted  the  new  State.  Dramatization  is  an 
effective  method  in  teaching  the  making  of  the 
Constitution  and  will  be  treated  under  a  later 
topic  heading. 

In  emphasizing  material  for  the  eighth  grade, 
the  economic  and  social  development  should  be 
particularly  studied. 

The  War  of  1812  as  a  military  topic  is  largely 
a  waste  of  time,  but  the  economic  results  which 
arose  from  it  demand  careful  attention. 

No  true  comprehension  of  such  a  man  as 
Andrew  Jackson,  or  the  meaning  of  the  "Spoils 
System,"  or  the  financial  difficulties  of  that  day 
can  be  attained  by  the  children  until  they  realize 
what  kind  of  a  person  the  average  American 
citizen  was  in  1837. 

62 


THE  RECITATION 

In  teaching  the  Civil  War  much  care  should 
be  taken  to  bring  out  the  economic  reasons  for 
the  war  and  the  true  causes  of  the  failure  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy:  the  lack  of  railroads,  the 
lack  of  manufactures,  the  final  lack  of  money  are 
of  more  importance  than  the  minute  details  of 
Grant's  campaigns. 

The  quotation,  "The  cotton  gin  caused  the 
Civil  War,  and  the  McCormick  reaper  won  it," 
would  be  a  good  review  topic  in  a  class  discussion 
lesson. 

The  period  of  American  history  which  follows 
the  Civil  War,  the  last  fifty  years,  should  be  de- 
veloped much  more  fully  than  is  usually  done  in 
elementary  schools.  The  teacher  should  resist 
the  temptation  to  dwell  upon  the  earlier  and  more 
familiar  periods  and  arrange  her  work  upon  a 
schedule  which  will  allow  a  proper  study  of  the 
great  modern  problems  that  have  arisen  since 
1877.  The  skillful  teacher  can  add  much  to  the 
textbook  and  the  work  may  be  correlated  with 
present-day  problems.  The  Spanish  War  natu- 
rally brings  the  future  status  of  the  Philippines 
before  a  class.  The  passage  of  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Acts,  modern  questions  about  rail- 
roads, labor  problems  and  the  power  of  capital  — 
such  thought  connections  make  the  history  lesson 

63 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

alive  to  a  child  and  they  prepare  him  for  citizen- 
ship. 

Another  important  element  which  should  be 
emphasized  is  the  necessary  European  background 
during  certain  periods  of  American  history. 

For  example,  no  satisfactory  explanation  of  the 
events  that  crowd  the  period  from  Washington  to 
Monroe  can  be  made  without  some  understand- 
ing of  the  French  Revolution  and  the  life  of 
Napoleon. 

Here  is  the  opportunity  for  outside  readings 
and  special  reports  which  will  deeply  interest  the 
children.  The  troubles  in  France,  the  conquests 
of  Napoleon,  the  victories  of  Nelson,  will  make 
clear  to  them  the  meaning  of  Gen£t  and  the 
X.  Y.  Z.  affair.  They  will  see  how  we  obtained 
Louisiana  and  why  we  laid  the  embargo  and  the 
reason  Great  Britain  impressed  our  sailors.  Many 
modern  problems  are  solved  by  such  a  study. 
Words  and  phrases  in  the  newspapers  to-day, 
"blockade,"  "contraband  of  war,"  "rights  of 
neutrals,"  etc.,  are  explained  as  part  of  the 
history  lesson  about  conditions  existing  a  hun- 
dred years  ago. 

An  interesting  way  of  teaching  history  ma- 
terial in  the-  higher  grades  is  the  "problem" 
method  of  arranging  the  work  to  be  studied. 
64 


THE  RECITATION 

The  subject-matter  of  the  lesson  is  considered 
under  the  form  of  some  question  whose  answer  is 
to  be  found  in  the  textbook.  For  example,  in- 
stead of  treating  the  topics  which  include  the 
French  and  Indian  War  as  mere  facts,  the  general 
problem  stated  for  the  class  to  solve  is,  "Why 
did  France  lose  her  possessions  in  America?" 
or,  "Why  did  England  win  the  struggle  for  the 
American  continent?  "  All  events  that  follow  one 
another  in  this  connection  are  related  to  the  ques- 
tion and  are  part  of  the  solution.  If  the  lesson  be 
on  the  Revolutionary  period,  such  a  problem  may 
be  stated  as,  "The  Burgoyne  compaign  is  con- 
sidered the  most  decisive  hi  the  war.  Is  this 
true?  "  The  recitation  must  answer  this  question 
and  the  interest  of  the  class  is  aroused  in  discuss- 
ing the  various  phases  of  the  story. 

Much  American  history  material  may  be 
taught  in  problem  form,  and  the  children  grow 
keen  in  challenging  general  statements  and  trac- 
ing out  the  connection  of  events  that  relate  to  the 
question.  The  mere  statement  of  a  fact  in  ques- 
tion form  is  not  necessarily  a  problem.  The  real 
problem  must  involve  an  opportunity  for  doubt 
and  discussion  and  should  include  several  minor 
topics.  To  ask  a  class,  "What  are  the  beliefs  of 
the  Republican  Party  about  the  tariff?  "  is  not  a 

65 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

problem.  It  is  an  ordinary  class  question;  but  to 
put  such  a  query  to  a  class  as,  "Why  have  the 
two  great  political  parties  in  the  United  States 
always  differed  about  the  tariff?  "  is  a  topic  which 
would  result  in  an  interesting  lesson  on  that 
rather  difficult  subject  for  children  to  grasp,  the 
tariff  question,  and  the  class-work  could  involve 
both  past  and  present  history  in  its  treatment. 
The  use  of  the  problem  topic  is  merely  another 
form  of  the  topical  recitation  and  makes  for 
variety  and  mental  development. 

After  reading  the  textbook  in  a  study  recitation, 
the  children  themselves  are  often  able  to  state 
the  problem  to  be  solved  for  the  next  day's  lesson. 

Another  novel,  modern  method  of  arranging 
history  material  may  be  considered  under  the  so- 
called  "motivating  lesson"  form.  This  means 
teaching  a  history  lesson  from  some  everyday 
subject  in  which  the  child's  interest  is  aroused. 
The  idea  here  is  to  explain  the  past  through  the 
medium  of  some  present  condition  or  event  which 
has  excited  the  curiosity  of  a  class  and  about 
which  they  themselves  desire  information. 

On  their  way  to  school,  the  children  see  a  group 
of  foreigners  working  on  the  street.  They  won- 
der about  them.  Who  are  they?  Why  are  they 
tliere?  Through  this  mental  doorway  they  enter 
66 


THE  RECITATION 

in  and  explore  the  vast  subject  of  immigration 
to  America.  They  discuss  the  reasons  for  emi- 
gration, the  various  nationalities  which  have 
settled  here,  the  services  they  have  rendered,  the 
problems  they  have  created. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  class  is  of  foreign  parentage 
and  he  hears  at  home  a  discussion  on  "naturali- 
zation" and  the  attitude  of  the  family  toward 
the  new  land.  He  asks  in  class,  "What  is  it  to  be 
an  American?"  This  is  the  motive  for  a  vigorous 
lesson  on  American  citizenship.  He  is  shown  that 
America  gives  him  freedom,  education,  protec- 
tion, opportunity,  and  happiness,  and  that  to  be 
an  American  means  to  serve  and  love  the  great 
Republic  whose  rich  gifts  he  enjoys. 

The  newspapers  and  magazines  are  filled  with 
an  infinite  variety  of  motivating  material.  An 
account  of  a  railway  dispute  will  lead  to  the 
Interstate  Commerce  Act  and  the  growth  of 
transportation;  a  race  riot  in  some  part  of  the 
South  means  a  lesson  on  the  results  of  the  Re- 
construction Period;  the  visit  to  the  United 
States  of  some  famous  personage  gives  a  lesson 
on  the  government  of  his  country  and  its  rela- 
tion to  America;  the  study  of  their  own  soil  con- 
ditions and  industries  will  teach  a  rural  school 
the  past  history  of  their  State. 
67 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

Teaching  history  by  means  of  the  present  is  a 
most  valuable  exercise  and  is  well  worth  using 
in  our  elementary  schools;  but  to  use  this  method 
alone  and  discard  the  textbook  and  the  chrono- 
logical treatment  of  past  events  would  end  in 
mental  confusion  and  a  superficial,  unbalanced, 
educational  system.  Constant,  daily  exercises 
whose  aim  is  the  explanation  of  the  past  by  con- 
necting it  with  the  modern  incident  should  be, 
however,  introduced  into  all  our  history  recita- 
tions. 

The  relationship  between  history  and  litera- 
ture should  never  be  forgotten  in  higher  grade 
teaching. 

Famous  poems,  as  Old  Ironsides,  The  Building 
of  the  Ship,  The  Blue  and  the  Gray,  interesting 
books,  as  The  Crossing  or  The  Crisis,  great  ora- 
tions, as  Webster's  Reply  to  Hayne  or  the  Gettys- 
burg Address,  should  be  used  as  often  as  time  will 
allow  in  the  classroom. 

A  few  verses  from  the  Biglow  Papers  give  color 
to  the  story  of  the  struggle  over  Texas,  and  a 
short  reading  from  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  will  show 
a  class  why  it  was  so  tremendous  an  influence 
during  the  period  before  the  Civil  War.  The 
children  should  associate  the  names  of  American 
poets  and  writers,  as  Cooper,  Lowell,  Whittier, 
68 


THE  RECITATION 

Longfellow,  and  Emerson,  with  the  historical 
events  of  their  time.  They  should  not  dwell  in  a 
separate  world  labeled  "literature." 

This  discussion  of  the  conduct  of  the  recitation 
may  be  summarized  by  stating  that  the  teacher 
may  make  the  ordinary  textbook  the  basis  of 
many  interesting  and  vitalizing  lessons.  She 
must  seek  to  present  a  true  conception  of  the 
dramatic  and  wonderful  story  which  we  call 
history.  She  must  see  and  apply  the  connection 
between  the  past  cause  and  its  present-day  result. 
She  must  use  this  story  as  a  powerful  instrument 
in  the  mental  development  of  her  pupils.  She 
must  above  all  train  them  to  think  intelligently 
and  independently,  and  to  express  their  thoughts 
in  lucid  and  definite  language. 


IX 

THE  USE  OF  THE  OUTLINE 

MODERN  educational  methods  have  laid  consid- 
erable emphasis  upon  the  use  of  the  outline 
or  topical  list  of  events  as  an  aid  in  the  study 
of  history.  It  is  considered  an  assistant  in  oral 
expression  and  an  incentive  in  the  development 
of  historical  reasoning. 

The  outline  is  fundamentally  a  condensed 
synopsis  of  the  most  important  facts  or  most 
essential  points  in  a  certain  amount  of  subject 
material.  Its  very  nature  implies  a  study  of 
cause  and  effect.  It  is  a  brief  memorandum  of 
our  thoughts  upon  a  certain  subject.  The  aim  of 
the  outline  is  to  teach  unity,  coherence,  and  the 
proper  emphasis,  and  its  practical  use  develops  a 
sense  of  organization  and  systematic  reasoning. 
Unity  must  be  secured  by  placing  only  suitable 
topics  under  the  proper  headings  and  by  exclud- 
ing all  irrelevant  and  trivial  details,  yet  every 
idea  essential  to  the  general  development  of  the 
thought  should  be  carefully  stated  in  the  outline. 

Coherence  must  be  obtained  by  proper  form 
70 


THE  OUTLINE 

arrangement,  each  topic  being  stated  in  the  same 
general  manner,  while  emphasis  is  gained  by  the 
constant  exercise  of  the  reasoning  powers. 

Since  the  outline  treats  of  events,  movements, 
or  personalities  in  a  definite  fashion,  it  pronounces 
judgment  on  the  relative  value  of  these  events 
or  personalities  historically  as  it  is  created;  there- 
fore, to  make  a  good  outline  the  mind  must  con- 
tinually compare  and  weigh  evidence  as  to  the 
value  of  the  event  selected  as  a  topical  heading. 
The  outline  thus  becomes  an  important  exercise 
in  judgment,  and  its  creation  by  an  individual  or 
by  a  class  is  a  useful  and  worth-while  achievement. 

Merely  learning  an  outline  made  by  the  teacher 
or  suggested  in  a  textbook,  while  it  may  clarify 
the  child's  view  of  the  material,  is  largely  an  act 
of  the  memory,  and  possesses  little  educational 
usefulness. 

If  a  teacher  uses  the  outline  a  textbook  offers, 
it  would  be  well  to  have  the  children  discuss  the 
topic  headings  and  prove  to  their  own  satisfac- 
tion the  importance  of  the  selected  titles  in  the 
author's  arrangement. 

Some  textbooks  used  in  the  elementary  grades 
present  excellent  outlines  for  class  use,  and 
teachers  feel  they  cannot  improve  upon  the  book; 
these  topics,  therefore,  are  studied,  the  class 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

merely  discussing  their  meaning  or  the  questions 
that  may  arise  in  connection  with  them. 

Such  a  method  is  much  better  than  the  old 
paragraph  system  because  it  has  the  virtue  of 
definite  and  logical  thinking,  yet  it  does  not 
develop  directly  the  pupil's  powers  of  reasoning 
or  teach  him  to  weigh  events  and  judge  historical 
values. 

The  best  method,  then,  is  the  use  of  the  outline 
created  by  the  pupil,  the  result  of  his  own  mental 
initiative  and  judgment. 

Outlines  may  be  made  in  class  during  a  study 
recitation  from  the  open  book,  or  they  may  be 
developed  during  a  class  recitation. 

Pupils  may  be  required  to  prepare  an  outline 
at  home  and  present  it  as  their  point  of  view  on 
the  subject-matter. 

After  the  children  have  made  a  series  of  out- 
lines, they  learn  the  aim  and  method  of  organi- 
zation desired  and  frequently  become  very  skill- 
ful in  handling  topics  and  suggesting  forms  of 
arrangement. 

The  proper  English  form  should  be  taught  and 
followed,  and  the  pupils  should  not  be  allowed 
to  make  outlines  in  which  sentences  and  phrases 
are  jumbled  together  in  a  careless  and  disorderly 
fashion. 

•  72 


THE  OUTLINE 

Making  a  good  outline  is  a  difficult  task.  It 
requires  concentration,  judgment,  and  a  sense 
of  form  as  well  as  a  knowledge  of  the  English 
language. 

When  the  outline  is  being  developed  in  the 
classroom,  the  topics  should  be  suggested  by  the 
various  members  of  the  class.  Each  topic  head- 
ing or  sub-title  should  be  carefully  considered 
before  it  is  accepted  as  the  proper  title  for  the 
event  or  idea  under  discussion.  The  words  used, 
the  notation  and  logical  order  of  the  thoughts 
expressed  in  the  outline,  should  be  criticized  by 
the  class,  and  the  final  statement  in  its  perfected 
form  shown  clearly  on  the  blackboard. 

The  children  should  understand  that  a  sum- 
mary or  a  synopsis  in  narrative  style  is  not  a 
class  outline,  and  they  should  be  trained  to  dis- 
tinguish between  them. 

The  following  outline  is  an  illustration  of  an 
outline  developed  in  a  study  recitation  on  the 
textbook  material  that  preceded  a  lesson  on  the 
Mexican  War.  The  teacher  had  stated  that  the 
outline  must  show  the  causes  of  the  war  with 
Mexico.  The  children  arranged  the  topics  in  the 
order  they  considered  the  most  historical,  one 
member  of  the  class  writing  the  topics  on  the 
board  as  they  were  formulated. 

73 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

The  story  of  Texas 

A.  Why  the  South  needed  more  land. 

1.  What  the  cotton  gin  had  done. 

2.  Westward  expansion. 

3.  The  Missouri  Compromise  line  and  the 
slave-owners. 

B.  How  the  people  felt  about  slavery. 

1.  The  feeling  in  the  South. 

a.  Reasons  for  slavery. 

2.  The  feeling  in  the  North. 

a.  Some  opposition  to  slavery, 
(i)  The  Abolitionists. 

C.  How  Texas  became  independent. 

1.  Texas  a  State  of  Mexico. 

a.  The  Americans  in  Texas. 

b.  The  discontent  of  the  Americans. 

2.  Texas  declares  her  independence  (1836). 

a.  Her  struggle  with  Mexico. 

(i)  What  General  Sam  Houston  did. 

3.  Texas  becomes  an  independent  State. 

a.  "The  Lone  Star  State." 

D.  How  Texas  entered  the  Union. 

1.  Texas  applies  for  admission. 

2.  The  struggle  between  the  parties. 

a.  Causes  of  the  dispute. 

(i)  Slavery    and    the    boundary 
claims  of  Texas. 

3.  How  Texas  was  admitted  (1845). 

a.  What  Tyler  did. 

b.  What  Polk  did. 

74 


THE  OUTLINE 

E.  Why  Texas  caused  the  war  with  Mexico. 

1.  What  Texas  claimed. 

2.  What  Mexico  claimed. 

3.  How  the  war  came  about. 

4.  Was  the  war  just  ? 

The  material  for  the  outline  was  all  in  the  text- 
book, but  scattered  through  various  chapters, 
and  some  of  the  topics  were  even  taken  from 
footnotes. 

In  reciting  from  this  outline,  each  topic  was 
discussed  orally.  Map  work  showing  the  Mis- 
souri Compromise  line  and  the  disputed  bound- 
aries was  used. 

The  teacher  read  several  extracts  from  the 
Biglow  Papers  to  illustrate  the  spirit  of  the 
times.  A  special  topic  on  Sam  Houston  was 
given  by  a  member  of  the  class,  and  there  was 
a  lively  exchange  of  views  on  the  interesting 
moral  question  which  was  suggested  by  the  last 
sub-title.  It  would  be  possible  to  correlate  such 
a  lesson  with  class-work  in  current  events  if  these 
were  being  studied  by  the  children. 

The  chief  value  of  such  an  exercise  is  its  in- 
fluence in  teaching  historical  continuity  and 
clearness  of  thought  in  organizing  material. 

Another  outline  made  by  a  class  when  studying 
a  later  period  of  history  was  used  as  a  basis  for 

75 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY, 

an  oral  review  conducted  by  the  members  of  the 
class. 

How  the  United  States  controls  business 

A.  Why  it  is  necessary. 

1.  The  growth  of  the  railroads. 

2.  The  growth  of  great  business. 

3.  The  growth  of  labor  unions. 

B.  How  the  Government  gets  its  power. 

1.  The  Constitution. 

2.  Laws  made  by  Congress. 

C.  How  "big  business"  helps  America. 

D.  How  "big  business"  may  hurt  America. 

E.  The  Acts  passed  by  Congress. 

1.  To  control  the  railroads. 

a.  Interstate  Commerce  Law  (1887). 

b.  Railroad  Rate  Act  (1906). 

2.  To  control  "big  business." 

a.  Sherman  Anti-Trust  Act  (1890). 

b.  Some  recent  Acts. 

In  the  review  lesson  on  the  outline  the  chil- 
dren discussed  the  words  "trusts,"  "monopoly," 
"strikes,"  "capitalists,"  "corporations."  They 
had  to  give  illustrations  of  the  valuable  work  done 
by  railroads  and  large  organizations  of  capital  as 
well  as  their  abuses.  The  clause  in  the  Constitu- 
tion giving  Congress  power  over  commerce  was 
recited  or  read.  Some  of  the  aims  of  the  labor 
76 


THE  OUTLINE 

unions  were  mentioned.  While  the  children  of 
an  elementary  grade  are  necessarily  limited  in 
their  ability  to  deal  very  profoundly  with  such 
material,  they  are  usually  deeply  interested  in 
it,  as  it  touches  on  everyday  lif e,  whose  problems 
are  their  own. 

In  thus  using  an  outline  as  a  basis  for  recita- 
tion or  review  work,  the  child  is  obeying  his 
natural  instinct  for  orderly  reasoning  about 
events  that  have  impressed  or  interested  him. 
He  sees  the  deeper  meanings  of  the  facts  pre- 
sented by  the  textbook  and  he  enjoys  searching 
for  the  strong  but  often  hidden  cords  that  bind 
the  past  cause  to  the  later  result. 

Therefore,  in  creating  an  outline  he  has  erected 
a  thought  skeleton  which  the  recitation  clothes 
with  flesh  and  endows  with  life. 


X 

THE  USE  OF  ILLUSTRATIVE  MATERIAL 

SOME  one  has  said  that  we  remember  one  tenth 
of  what  we  hear,  five  tenths  of  what  we  see,  and 
nine  tenths  of  what  we  do.  The  power  and  value 
of  the  visual  and  manual  appeal  is  becoming 
rapidly  one  of  the  commonplaces  of  education. 
The  message  which  the  eye  and  hand  carry  to 
the  brain,  the  deep,  mysterious  influence  of  the 
physical  upon  the  mental,  are  all  part  to-day  of 
our  new  educational  creed. 

We  know  that  we  cannot  teach  chemistry 
without  a  laboratory  and  the  proper  scientific 
apparatus;  neither  can  we  teach  history  with- 
out using  some  illustrative  material  to  give  the 
proper  sense  reaction  to  our  mental  stimulus. 

Our  problem,  then,  is  to  teach  the  child  to  see 
and  to  do  as  well  as  to  think  and  to  feel;  for 
history,  instead  of  being  a  book  subject  alone,  is 
peculiarly  a  hand  subject  and  an  eye  subject. 
Under  the  magic  of  this  modern  method  the  child 
not  only  thinks  about  the  Indian  or  the  Missis- 
78 


ILLUSTRATIVE  MATERIAL 

sippi  River,  but  he  sees  them  and  he  even  creates 
his  own  conception  of  them. 

Maps,  charts,  pictures,  sand  houses,  etc.,  give 
color  and  meaning  to  the  words  in  the  textbook 
or  in  the  story  reader,  and  the  learning  by  doing 
is  a  potent  factor  in  the  child's  development. 

Among  the  many  varieties  of  illustrative  ma- 
terial which  are  helpful  in  elementary-grade  work 
are  maps  and  charts. 

Maps  and  charts 

It  would  scarcely  seem  necessary  to  dwell  upon 
the  value  and  necessity  of  these  most  essential 
instruments  in  all  good  history  teaching.  To  talk 
about  Washington's  campaigns  without  a  map 
accompaniment,  or  to  dilate  on  the  advantages  of 
the  Louisiana  Purchase  without  knowing  where 
it  was,  or  to  discuss  the  future  of  the  Philippine 
Islands  without  locating  them,  would  be  as 
foolish  as  to  describe  the  way  to  make  bread  in 
a  domestic-science  lesson  without  demonstrating 
the  operation. 

The  map,  the  chart,  the  globe  are  all  necessary 
adjuncts  to  every  history  recitation.  How  to  use 
them  most  effectively  is  the  teacher's  problem. 

In  some  schools  the  teacher  may  possess  few 
good  wall  maps,  no  history  charts  or  globes;  she 

79 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

must  therefore  depend  upon  the  map  in  the  text- 
book for  the  class  use.  The  more  maps  in  a  text- 
book the  better.  The  children  should  be  taught 
an  intensive  study  of  these  maps.  They  should 
feel  that  the  map  is  part  of  the  daily  lesson,  and 
it  should  be  examined  and  consulted  when  the 
lesson  is  prepared.  All  geographical  allusions 
should  be  noted  and  the  pupils  should  be  held 
responsible  for  their  accurate  location. 

Children  will  not  do  this  unless  they  are  trained 
by  the  class-work  to  understand  and  appreciate 
the  value  of  the  maps.  Indifference  to  the  map 
is  a  common  weakness  in  history  teaching.  High- 
school  graduates  as  well  as  elementary-school 
pupils  are  frequently  unable  to  locate  important 
cities,  rivers,  and  even  countries.  The  relation- 
ship that  exists  between  the  history  lesson  and 
the  atlas  or  map  should  be  constantly  empha- 
sized as  an  essential  element  in  every  day's  work. 
That  the  geography  of  a  place  frequently  explains 
its  history  is  a  truth  that  a  class  will  in  tune  grasp 
and  enjoy. 

Wall  maps  are  useful,  as  they  give  the  setting 
on  a  large  scale,  and  the  place  under  discussion 
may  be  clearly  seen  and  its  geography  thoroughly 
impressed.  Besides  wall  maps,  there  are  several 
excellent  sets  of  history  charts  which  are  ex- 
80 


ILLUSTRATIVE  MATERIAL 

tremely  helpful  in  history  teaching.  These  show 
the  progressive  stages  of  national  development. 
They  represent  various  periods  or  special  histori- 
cal events  and  give  meaning  and  definiteness  to 
the  narrative.  The  use  of  a  good  history  chart 
in  a  seventh  or  eighth  grade  will  well  repay  its 
initial  cost  to  the  school. 

Besides  the  ordinary  wall  maps  and  history 
charts,  outline  maps  may  be  obtained.  These  are 
peculiarly  valuable  for  review  work  and  can  be 
made  excellent  exercises  in  accuracy  of  location 
and  topical  descriptions.  They  are  usually  made 
of  blackboard  material  and  can  be  erased  and 
cleaned  after  the  lesson. 

A  child  sent  to  an  outline  map  of  this  character 
to  locate  or  draw  in  some  important  city,  river, 
campaign,  mountain  chain,  etc.,  must  actually 
possess  very  definite  knowledge  of  the  geography 
asked  for,  or  his  mistakes  will  be  so  palpable  that 
he  will  receive  the  sharp  criticism  of  his  class- 
mates. If  the  teacher  is  unable  to  procure  a  wall 
outline  map,  she  herself  can  easily  place  one  on 
the  blackboard  and  use  it  in  the  same  fashion. 

Outline  maps  may  be  made  by  the  children 

themselves  on  the  blackboard  and  important 

history  and  geography  connections  made  on  them. 

Children  studying  New  Jersey  or  Massachusetts 

Si 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

or  any  home  state  history  can  easily  put  in  early 
settlements,  Indian  trails,  famous  historical  cen- 
ters, if  there  are  any,  battlefields,  railroads,  or 
stage-coach  routes. 

The  small  individual  outline  maps  which  may 
be  used  for  special  historical  illustrations  are  well 
worth  using.  Such  topics  as  medieval  trade 
routes,  voyages,  territorial  expansion,  etc.,  may 
be  placed  on  these  by  the  pupil  either  at  home  or 
during  the  class  lesson.  Such  map  work  not  only 
imparts  a  knowledge  of  geography,  but  the 
manual  dexterity  necessary  to  produce  a  neat, 
well-drawn,  or  nicely  colored  map  is  a  profitable 
exercise  in  handwork. 

Sand-table  maps  may  be  used  in  the  primary 
grades  to  illustrate  community  history  stories  as 
well  as  community  geography.  If  the  children 
make  a  map  that  shows  the  location  of  their  own 
town  or  village  and  its  river  and  hill  environ- 
ment, they  can  also  develop  from  it  its  past 
history.  As  the  history  of  a  community  is  usually 
the  result  of  its  natural  and  physical  surround- 
ings, the  sand  table  will  show  this  well. 

On  the  sand-table  map  the  children  can  make 

the  first  road,  the  tavern  where  the  stage-coach 

used  to  stop.   They  can  indicate  the  site  of  the 

first  house  and  the  first  church,  perhaps  some 

82 


ILLUSTRATIVE  MATERIAL 

Revolutionary  landmark,  or  some  interesting 
local  monument.  Emphasis  on  local  history  is 
exceedingly  worth  while.  One  of  the  class  may 
live  in  a  famous  old  house;  another  may  be  able 
to  tell  some  legend  or  family  tradition  about  his 
home.  Perhaps  a  soldier  was  hidden  in  his  cel- 
lar, or  Indians  lived  in  the  woods  where  to-day 
the  children  have  picnic  suppers.  The  sand  map 
may  indicate  the  site  of  the  first  schoolhouse  and 
show  the  gradual  growth  of  the  community.  Lo- 
cal history,  because  it  emphasizes  the  everyday 
familiar  world  around  them,  is  peculiarly  fas- 
cinating to  young  children.  All  such  material  is 
easily  correlated  with  geography  and  may  be 
illustrated  by  constructive  work  in  clay,  paper, 
cardboard,  or  plasticine. 

In  primary  work,  often  the  best  map  is  the 
blackboard  map  made  by  the  teacher  herself. 
She  can  omit  useless  details  and  place  upon  it 
the  actual  essentials  adapting  it  to  the  story  in 
the  book  or  the  story  she  has  told  the  class.  The 
ability  to  do  this  successfully  is  well  worth  cul- 
tivating by  teachers  of  elementary  grades.  As 
the  map  is  one  form  by  which  the  process  of  ma- 
terializing the  history  lesson  is  developed,  the  use 
of  manual  illustrative  work  is  another  method  of 
visualization. 

83 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

The  use  of  constructive  hand  work 
It  has  been  asserted  that  nearly  every  incident 
hi  history  can  be  visualized  and  reproduced  in 
concrete  form.  From  the  Indian  camp-fire  to  the 
signing  of  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  it  is 
possible  to  protray  in  visible  form  the  event 
whose  story  the  child  meets  in  his  history  study. 
This  constructive  work  may  be  of  many  various 
kinds,  such  as:  — 

1.  Blackboard  illustration  by  the  teacher  and  the 

children. 

2.  Paper-folding  for  caps,  boats,  furniture,  etc. 

3.  Paper-cutting. 

4.  Color  work,  water-color  pictures,  crayons,  etc. 

5.  The  use  of  cardboard  and  corrugated  paper  for 

houses,  cabins,  wagons,  etc. 

6.  The  use  of  clay  or  plasticine;  everything  im- 

aginable can  be  made  from  clay. 

7.  The  use  of  the  sand  table  on  which  the  scene 

may  be  portrayed. 

These  materials  are  the  means  by  which  the 
history  story  becomes  to  the  child  a  living  reality. 
When  he  makes  the  cabins  and  stockaded  houses 
of  the  early  pioneers,  he  creates  for  himself  the 
primitive  atmosphere  wherein  Boone  and  Clark 
played  their  heroic  parts. 
84 


ILLUSTRATIVE  MATERIAL 

Constructive  work  is  valuable  in  every  grade, 
but  its  practice  in  the  primary  classes  is  a  funda- 
mental element  in  all  successful  teaching.  Here 
the  sand  table  should  be  the  center  of  the  history 
work.  On  it  may  be  shown  all  forms  of  primitive 
life  from  the  "tree-dwellers"  to  the  homes  of  the 
Pilgrims.  The  Thanksgiving  story  may  be  de- 
lightfully portrayed,  the  Indian  guests  and  their 
Pilgrim  hosts  may  be  made  of  clay  or  paper  and 
the  feast  spread  out-of-doors  on  wooden  tables  as 
the  ancient  record  tells  us.  The  Southern  planta- 
tion, with  its  stately  manor  house,  its  tobacco 
fields,  and  its  negro  cabins,  is  another  interesting 
sand-table  problem.  The  children  delight  in  this 
form  of  manual  work.  They  enjoy  dressing  dolls 
or  painting  paper  dolls  to  represent  Quaker  and 
Puritan  maidens,  French  missionaries  or  Dutch 
matrons.  They  will  reproduce,  often  with  extra- 
ordinary accuracy,  Spanish  ships  and  colonial 
gentlemen,  New  England  schoolboys,  and  British 
redcoats.  They  develop  accuracy  and  observa- 
tion and  sometimes  much  delicacy  of  touch  and 
remarkable  ingenuity  and  manual  skill. 

Thus,  through  the  art  of  creation,  the  historic 
past  is  re-lived  by  the  child,  and  its  scenes  and 
personages  become  part  of  his  history  inheri- 
tance. 

85 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

The  use  of  pictures 

All  children  enjoy  pictures  and  they  are  helpful 
in  all  grades  of  history  teaching.  Picture  impres- 
sions are  very  powerful,  and  many  a  lifelong  idea 
has  resulted  from  a  child's  interpretation  of  a  pic- 
ture. Therefore  inartistic  and  poor  pictures  are 
really  hindrances  to  proper  educational  develop- 
ment because  they  give  a  false  and  inaccurate 
account  of  a  historic  event.  The  well-known 
picture,  "Washington  Crossing  the  Delaware," 
is  really  historically  ridiculous.  The  comment 
of  a  sailor's  son  in  a  Barnegat  school  who,  af- 
ter gazing  at  the  picture,  remarked,  "Washing- 
ton was  n't  much  of  a  seaman,  standing  up  in  a 
boat  rocking  that  way  among  the  icebergs,"  is 
an  excellent  criticism.  The  picture  merely  records 
the  fancies  of  the  artist  who  originally  painted  it, 
yet  thousands  of  persons  have  had  this  scene 
indelibly  impressed  upon  them  by  the  study  of 
this  picture. 

I  In  primary  work  the  picture  is  much  used  as  a 
basis  for  story-telling.  Good  pictures  may  be 
easily  obtained  and  cheaply  mounted.  The  chil- 
dren can  study  the  picture  before  or  after  the 
story  is  told  and  the  details  of  the  picture  may 
help  in  dramatizing  the  story  or  in  its  English 
86 


ILLUSTRATIVE  MATERIAL 

reproduction.  Such  a  picture  as  Millais's  "  Boy- 
hood of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,"  showing  the  eager 
faces  of  the  two  boys  listening  to  the  tales  of 
the  old  sailor,  or  the  well-known  "Lafayette  at 
Mount  Vernon,"  with  its  pretty,  old-fashioned 
Virginia  setting,  are  examples  of  story  pictures 
helpful  in  primary  teaching. 

It  is  probably  unnecessary  to  warn  teachers 
against  holding  up  before  a  class  pictures  which 
are  too  small  to  be  seen  by  all  the  children  or 
against  passing  a  picture  around  a  class  while  the 
story  is  being  told.  The  child  cannot  look  at  the 
picture  and  listen  to  the  story  at  the  same  time 
unless  the  group  is  a  very  small  one  and  the 
teacher  is  telling  the  story  from  the  picture, 
using  it  as  illustrative  material. 

Pictures  in  the  textbook  are  often  neglected  by 
both  teacher  and  pupils.  If  the  pictures  are  good, 
they  deserve  to  be  definitely  studied.  Merely 
looking  at  them  is  not  studying  them.  The  de- 
tails should  be  examined  and  the  children  asked 
to  describe  the  meaning  and  spirit  of  the  scene 
portrayed  and  realize  how  it  illustrates  the  text. 

In  the  higher  grades,  the  pupils  should  be  en- 
couraged to  collect  postcards,  pictures  from  mag- 
azines and  newspapers,  and  estimate  their  artistic 
and  literary  value.  Both  civics  and  history  may 

87 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

be  greatly  vivified  by  such  pictures,  and  class 
interest  strongly  increased. 

A  picture  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  session, 
of  the  President  addressing  Congress,  glimpses  of 
scenes  at  Ellis  Island  showing  the  experiences 
of  the  immigrant,  or  a  picture  of  a  great  Western 
wheat-field  swept  by  a  McCormick  reaper  give 
color  and  life  to  the  text.  In  collecting  out- 
side material  of  this  character,  a  class  should 
be  taught  discrimination.  Many  newspaper  pic- 
tures are  not  worth  preserving.  Gaudy  coloring, 
poorly  executed  prints,  sensational  subject-mat- 
ter, should  be  banished  by  the  class  itself  as  un- 
worthy a  place  in  the  classroom  life. 

Good  pictures  for  elementary-grade  work  may 
be  obtained  from  The  Perry  Picture  Company, 
Maiden,  Massachusetts;  from  the  Mentor  Pub- 
lishing Company,  222  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York 
City;  from  the  Cosmos  Picture  Company,  New 
York  City. 

Source  pictures,  as  the  McKinley  Illustrated 
Source  Pictures,  The  McKinley  Company,  1619 
Ranstead  Street,  Philadelphia,  are  excellent  for 
higher-grade  work.  These  pictures  show  the 
quaint  dress,  the  customs,  the  buildings,  the  man- 
ners of  a  past  age.  They  are  genuine  reproduc- 
tions of  old  photographs  or  drawings  or  cartoons 
88 


ILLUSTRATIVE  MATERIAL 

in  old  newspapers.  A  seventh,  eighth,  or  ninth 
grade  will  appreciate  and  enjoy  them.  The  jokes 
and  fashions  of  Jackson's  day  will  reveal  to  them 
the  social  life  of  the  time  more  effectively  than 
the  textbook  narrative.  No  word  description  of 
an  early  railroad  train  will  be  half  as  interesting 
or  illuminating  as  the  picture  of  an  old-fashioned 
locomotive  and  its  cars. 

Blackboard  drawing  is  another  important 
picture  method.  The  teacher  who  can  sketch  as 
she  talks,  no  matter  how  crudely  she  does  it,  is 
able  to  hold  the  fascinated  interest  of  her  class. 
In  primary  teaching,  the  picture  on  the  black- 
board may  be  used  in  innumerable  ways  to  illus- 
trate the  varied  phases  of  the  "storied  past." 

The  stereoscope  is  used  most  successfully  in 
many  schools  and  greatly  enjoyed  by  the  chil- 
dren. These  pictures  reproduce  wonderfully  the 
actual  scene  and  give  a  realistic  vision  of  the  city 
or  country  they  represent  in  a  marvelous  fashion. 

Some  schools  possess  a  lantern,  and  the  history 
teacher  may  be  fortunate  enough  to  gather  a 
small  collection  of  good  slides  which  may  be 
used  for  an  occasional  talk  or  lecture. 

No  ordinary  recitation  or  book  work  is  able  to 
create  as  lasting  an  impression  as  the  pictures 
thrown  upon  the  screen.  Good  slides  and  a  good 
89 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

lantern  are  investments  that  richly  repay  the 
school  authorities,  and  no  doubt  the  day  will 
come  when  their  use  in  the  classroom  will  be  an 
essential  factor  in  all  educational  work. 

History  has,  by  the  use  of  manual  and  visual 
devices,  become  alive  to  many  thousands  of  chil- 
dren to  whom  a  book  narrative  made  no  definite 
appeal.  While  the  spiritual  or  ethical  significance 
of  the  history  story  should  never  be  lost  or  the 
underlying  idea  cheapened  and  distorted  in  or- 
der to  overemphasize  some  form  of  illustrative 
work,  yet  as  an  aid  in  elementary  teaching  its 
tremendous  power  to  awaken  cue  child's  interest 
in  the  past  is  a  most  fundamental  factor  in  suc- 
cessful education. 


XI 

DRAMATIZATION 

COMING  into  her  schoolroom  one  wet  morning  a 
teacher  of  a  rather  dull  and  unresponsive  fourth 
grade  was  surprised,  indeed.  In  front  of  the  desk 
the  children  were  crowded  around  a  large  green 
spot  which  on  closer  inspection  was  seen  to  be  the 
torn  lining  of  the  old  waste-basket.  Standing  on 
the  green  area  was  a  little  Irish  girl,  a  band  of 
red  ribbon  tied  around  her  freckled  forehead,  in 
her  hand  was  the  blackboard  ruler,  and  she  was 
pointing  it  toward  the  kneeling  figure  of  a  de- 
cidedly shabby  and  none  too  clean  little  Polish 
Jew  whose  dark  eyes  were  eagerly  fastened  upon 
her.  "  Git  up,  Sir  Walter,"  she  commanded  ma- 
jestically; "your  queen  is  well  pleased  and  you 
shall  have  a  new  cloak  at  once,  and  because  of 
this  'ere  brave  deed  you  may  come  to  my  castle 
for  breakfast." 

"He'd  orter  kiss  your  hand  now,"  coached  one 
of  the  crowd,  when  the  teacher  was  perceived  at 
the  door.  In  a  moment  the  scene  dissolved.  The 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

children  rushed  to  their  seats  and  only  the  green 
muslin  cloth  remained,  a  mute  witness  to  the 
memory  of  a  famous  incident. 

The  teacher  had  been  telling  history  stories 
and  the  class  had  been  reading  them  for  several 
months,  but  the  results  had  not  been  very  cheer- 
ing. The  English  reproductions  were  dull  and 
misspelled,  the  oral  expression  halting  and  in- 
accurate, and  the  class  seemed  to  lack  imagina- 
tion and  appreciation.  The  teacher  therefore 
returned  the  lining  to  the  waste-basket  very 
thoughtfully. 

When  the  history  lesson  came  that  afternoon, 
she  said  suddenly:  "Let's  play  one  of  the  history 
stories  we  have  read  to-day  as  you  played  Sir 
Walter  this  morning.  Shall  we  begin  with  Robin 
Hood  and  his  adventures  in  the  forest?  Whom 
shall  we  have  for  Robin  Hood?  " 

A  dozen  hands  waved  in  the  air.  She  gazed 
into  eager,  transformed  little  faces.  "I  want  to 
be  King  Richard!"  " Please  let  me  be  Prince 
John!  I  know  just  how  to  play  him!"  "Don't 
let  the  boys  be  everything! "  —  were  some  of  the 
entreaties  that  filled  her  ears. 

From  that  hour  dramatization  entered  the 
doors  of  that  fourth  grade  and  dullness  and  in- 
ertia vanished  before  its  alluring  charms.  The 
92 


DRAMATIZATION 

play  instinct  so  powerful  in  the  child  was  aroused 
and  the  history  lesson  was  eagerly  prepared. 
Later,  in  review,  the  incidents  were  frequently 
acted,  much  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  class. 

Under  the  severe  criticism  showered  upon 
actors  whose  language  was  considered  unworthy 
of  their  parts,  English  expression  rapidly  im- 
proved. "If  you  don't  talk  better,  you  can't 
play  being  Bishop,"  was  the  threat  made  by  va- 
rious members  of  the  class  to  the  young  person 
who  sought  to  personate  Stephen  Langton  in  the 
signing  of  the  Magna  Charta. 

The  class  at  last  aspired  to  give  a  real  play  and 
invite  the  home  circles. 

The  play  was  largely  written  by  themselves 
and  was  a  thrilling  picture  of  the  varied  ad- 
ventures of  a  certain  little  Hugh  who  dwelt  in 
a  medieval  castle.  The  fathers  and  mothers  all 
came,  and  despite  the  vicissitudes  of  home-made 
scenery  and  costumes,  Hugh  was  presented  in 
most  excellent  fashion. 

He  was  a  truly  noble  page,  went  hunting  and 
hawking,  visited  fairs  and  monasteries,  saved 
ladies  from  cruel  robbers,  and  was  finally  knighted 
amid  much  glory  and  applause. 

As  the  teacher  watched  the  delighted  faces  of 
the  admiring  audience  and  listened  to  the  spirited 

93 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

lines  of  her  "fourth-graders,"  she  decided  she 
was  glad,  indeed,  that  she  had  truly  interpreted 
the  possibilities  of  the  scene  around  the  old  green 
lining  that  morning. 

She  had  merely  allowed  the  natural  instincts  of 
the  children  to  express  themselves  through  emo- 
tion and  action.  The  old  romantic  stories  of  the 
past  were  now  eternally  alive  to  them,  for  they 
had  lived  them  over  in  the  doing. 

Dramatization  is  to-day  universally  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  most  valuable  forms  of  hu- 
man expression,  and  its  use  in  education  is  en- 
thusiastically advocated.  ] 

No  subject  offers  so  rich  a  field  for  dramatic 
representation  as  history.  Literature  itself  can- 
not invent  more  emotional  or  imaginative  situ- 
ations than  can  be  found  in  the  great  drama  of 
human  progress  and  struggle.  No  tragedies  are 
darker  than  those  that  have  really  happened,  no 
comedies  more  joyful  than  those  men  themselves 
have  played. 

Children  delight  in  the  heroic  and  the  unusual. 
Many  are  natural  actors  and  will  without  the 
slightest  self-consciousness  personate  any  char- 
acter that  appeals  to  their  interest. 

Kindergarten  children  enjoy  "pretending"  in 
their  games  and  boys  will  play  Indians  for  hours 
94 


DRAMATIZATION 

at  a  time  and  are  passionately  absorbed  in  the 
scenes  they  invent. 

Self -consciousness,  which  begins  to  develop  dur- 
ing adolescence,  and  which  gives  awkwardness 
and  diffidence  to  the  high-school  boy  or  girl,  does 
not  often  interfere  with  the  dramatic  instinct  in 
children  in  the  elementary  schools.  In  the  lower 
grades  the  acting  is  better  than  in  the  eighth,  it 
is  more  spontaneous  and  less  fearful  of  ridicule, 
more  original  and  naturally  vigorous. 

History  dramatizations  in  school  naturally  fall 
into  two  classes:  the  formal  or  semi-formal  pre- 
pared play,  pageant,  tableau,  etc.,  and  the  in- 
formal or  spontaneous  presentation  of  some  his- 
torical event  in  dramatic  form.  This  latter  form 
is  naturally  a  review  method  in  character. 

The  formal  play  may  be  given  in  different 
ways  and  has  varied  possibilities.  The  play  may 
be  taken  from  a  book  or  magazine.  It  may  be 
written  by  the  children  themselves.  It  may  be 
purely  historical  or  it  may  be  an  imaginary 
drama  placed  in  historical  setting.  The  children 
learn  the  parts  and  present  the  scenes  to  an  out- 
side audience.  Plays  founded  on  the  lives  of 
famous  men,  as  Nathan  Hale  or  Daniel  Boone, 
or  on  the  well-known  Sherwood  Forest  Tales,  are 
examples  of  this  kind  of  play. 

95 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

The  pageant  with  its  varied  activities  is  a  de- 
lightful form  of  the  prepared  play.  Scenes  from 
community  history  may  be  enacted.  Dancing, 
music,  and  symbolic  tableaux  may  be  intro- 
duced. 

Not  long  ago  a  country  school  in  New  England 
had  a  little  pageant  under  the  trees  in  the  yard 
and  invited  the  parents.  They  gave  some  scenes 
from  the  history  of  the  State  and  one  or  two  little 
incidents  in  the  past  history  of  that  school  dis- 
trict. They  closed  with  a  pretty  tableau  com- 
memorating the  beauty  of  education  and  patriot- 
ism. The  people  had  come  for  miles  to  see  the 
"school  show"  and  the  interest  aroused  was  re- 
markable. The  next  town  meeting  appropriated 
more  money  for  that  district  than  it  had  ever 
received  and  it  now  boasts  a  small  school  library 
as  a  result  of  the  little  play. 

In  the  lower  grades,  dramatic  opportunities 
are  innumerable.  The  life  of  Columbus,  William 
Perm  and  the  Indians,  Marion  and  the  British 
officer  are  illustrations  of  good  primary  play  ma- 
terial. Scenes  from  Indian  story  work  or  sim- 
ple little  legends  showing  primitive  life  may  be 
used  in  the  first  or  second  grade  with  excel- 
lent results.  Such  a  book  as  Bird  and  Starling's 
Historical  Plays  for  Children  contains  suggestive 
96 


DRAMATIZATION 

dialogues  which  may  be  adapted  for  fifth-  and 
sixth-grade  use. 

The  reproduction  in  dramatic  form  of  the  mak- 
ing of  the  Constitution  has  become  an  admirable 
and  useful  exercise  in  many  eighth-grade  classes. 
The  class  carefully  read  the  sources,  as  Madison's 
diary  and  the  various  speeches  of  the  members  of 
the  convention.  They  become  saturated  with  the 
ideas  of  the  speakers  and  acquainted  with  their 
personalities.  The  scenes  may  be  presented  in 
different  ways.  Washington  is  chosen  president 
of  the  convention;  the  compromises  are  fought 
over  and  debated;  the  dissenting  members  with- 
draw; Franklin  and  Hamilton  make  their  famous 
appeals;  and  finally,  amid  the  solemn  congratula- 
tions of  the  assembled  delegates,  the  great  docu- 
ment is  formally  signed.  The  children  in  present- 
ing such  a  historic  scene  usually  catch  the  spirit 
and  ideals  and  even  the  language  of  the  men  they 
personate. 

Some  schools  have  followed  the  making  of  the 
Constitution  with  a  symbolic  series  of  tableaux 
representing  the  ratification  by  the  various 
States.  The  signing  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence may  also  be  portrayed  in  similar 
fashion. 

Biography  is  naturally  a  fertile  field  for  the 

97 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

display  of  the  dramatic  instinct.  Scenes  from  the 
life  of  such  a  man  as  Benjamin  Franklin  may  be 
so  skillfully  arranged  that  they  present  a  picture 
of  colonial  and  national  history:  — 

1.  Franklin,  the  poor  boy,  eating  the  loaf  of  bread 

on  Philadelphia  streets. 

2.  Franklin,  the  scientific  student,  in  the  episode 

with  the  lightning  rod. 

3.  Franklin  trying  to  raise  the  money  to  equip 

Braddock's  little  army  for  the  field. 

4.  Franklin  standing  at  the  bar  of  the  House  of 

Commons  during  his  famous  examination  on 
the  state  of  the  colonies. 

5.  Franklin  urging  the  signing  of  the  Declaration 

of  Independence,  "lest  we  all  hang  sepa- 
rately." 

6.  Franklin,  the  fSted  hero  of  the  French  Court, 

surrounded  by  the  admiring  ladies. 

7.  Franklin,  an  old  man  of  eighty,  making  the  final 

speech  in  the  Constitutional  Convention. 

In  these  scenes  the  life  of  one  man  is  really 
the  history  of  a  people,  and  much  may  be  done 
in  presenting  them  that  will  teach  the  dress, 
the  customs,  and  the  language  of  the  special 
epoch. 

As  part  of  the  English  work,  the  class  may 
write  the  dialogue  and  speeches,  while  the  slight 
costuming  required  might  be  prepared  in  the 
98 


DRAMATIZATION 

manual-training  period  with  some  assistance  or 
contributions  from  home. 

Too  ornate  and  elaborate  dramatizations  spoil 
the  simplicity  and  value  of  school  exercises  of 
this  character,  or  make  the  preparation  a  burden 
rather  than  a  pleasure,  and  destroy  the  natural- 
ness of  the  attempt.  Very  little  stage  scenery  is 
necessary  if  the  young  actors  are  filled  with  the 
spirit  of  the  play.  Children  love  to  "dress  up," 
but  so  vivid  are  their  imaginations  that  a  band 
around  the  brow  will  create  a  knightly  costume 
or  a  feather  in  the  hair  an  Indian's  war  panoply. 
Like  the  Elizabethan  stage,  which  used  signs  to 
represent  scenery,  they  do  not  require  a  Belasco 
setting  for  their  little  dramas. 

Teachers  are  sometimes  so  troubled  over  these 
details  that  they  are  afraid  to  introduce  much 
dramatization  in  their  work.  If  they  would  real- 
ize that  elaborate  staging  is  not  in  harmony  with 
the  simple  ideas  that  the  child's  play  presents, 
they  would  enjoy  this  form  of  teaching  and  use.it 
more  frequently. 

Besides  the  formal  or  prepared  play,  the 
spontaneous  or  informal  dramatization  may  be 
used.  This  is  merely  the  class  review  presented 
in  a  dramatic  form  and  is  especially  valuable 
with  children  below  the  sixth  grade.  The  story 

99 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

the  children  read  or  the  teacher  tells  is  acted 
spontaneously  and  without  preparation  by  the 
class,  as  in  the  knighting  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh 
on  the  waste-basket  lining.  The  parts  are  chosen 
rapidly  and  the  children  use  the  words  that  come 
naturally  to  them  to  express  their  conception  of 
the  characters  they  desire  to  represent. 

Much  primary  history  lends  itself  readily  to 
this  form  of  dramatic  inspiration. 

The  story  of  Joseph  and  the  story  of  Co- 
lumbus are  series  of  dramatic  episodes.  Scenes 
from  English  history  —  as  King  Alfred  burning 
the  cakes,  or  Robert  Bruce  and  the  spider  —  are 
peculiarly  easy  to  act.  Early  colonial  life  in 
America  from  the  Pilgrims  to  Daniel  Boone  are 
filled  with  dramatic  incidents.  No  scenery  and 
no  costuming  are  necessary  for  this  work;  the 
scene  is  presented  merely  as  part  of  the  lesson. 

Besides  the  reproduction  of  actual  historical 
events,  imaginary  scenes  in  a  historical  setting 
may  be  used,  as  historical  poems,  extracts  from 
historical  stories.  Little  plays  where  the  children 
suggest  plot  and  scenes  and  help  write  the  lines 
are  often  useful  exercises.  Occasionally  a  com- 
mittee of  children  may  be  able  to  present  a 
dramatization  to  the  class  without  any  assistance 
from  the  teacher. 

100 


DRAMATIZATION 

The  study  of  the  past  is  necessary  in  order  to 
portray  the  language,  customs,  and  appearance 
of  the  various  characters  of  the  play.  This  is 
good  training  both  in  history  and  in  English,  and 
the  plot  development,  however  elementary  it 
may  be,  requires  some  reasoning  and  sense  of 
logical  order  as  well  as  some  definite  knowledge 
of  historical  facts. 

The  little  girl  who  wrote  that  Queen  Elizabeth 
took  the  first  train  to  Plymouth  to  meet  Francis 
Drake  on  his  return  from  America  would  have  dis- 
covered her  mistake  had  she  been  writing  a  play 
around  the  event  with  the  members  of  her  class. 

Dramatization  in  any  form  is  an  interesting 
and  effective  method  of  teaching,  but  like  all 
methods  should  not  be  tried  continually.  Its 
over-employment  may  produce  an  artificial  stim- 
ulation which  will  in  time  react  unfavorably 
on  some  children.  They  will  find  other  forms  of 
study  dull  and  stupid  and  they  develop  an  un- 
healthy mental  activity.  Nervous  and  shy  chil- 
dren sometimes  do  not  enjoy  acting  any  part 
and  dread  the  publicity  and  responsibility  of  the 
play.  Therefore  the  dramatic  method,  while  it 
arouses  enthusiasm  and  is  a  valuable  aid  in  in- 
spirational teaching,  should  always  be  used  with 
care  and  never  abused. 

101 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

Teachers  should  also  be  cautioned  on  the 
choice  of  material  for  dramatization.  Some  sub- 
jects should  never  be  acted  in  a  schoolroom  for 
obvious  reasons:  battle  scenes,  deathbed  scenes, 
Indian  attacks,  massacres,  executions,  and  the 
like,  or  scenes  where  the  physical  conditions  ren- 
der the  attempt  to  portray  them  ridiculous,  as 
Washington  crossing  the  Delaware,  etc.  All  such 
episodes,  however  dramatic  in  one  sense,  are 
unfit  or  incapable  of  proper  presentation  by  chil- 
dren in  school.  Good  taste  and  common  sense 
must  govern  the  teacher's  arrangement  of  mate- 
rial. 

In  general,  however,  it  may  be  said  that 
dramatization  is  a  potent  and  noble  educational 
instrument. 

No  one  who  has  ever  watched  a  class  "play" 
a  lesson  and  has  noted  the  grace,  the  abandon, 
the  lack  of  self-consciousness,  the  delight  with 
which  they  re-lived  their  little  drama,  their  com- 
plete absorption  in  the  characters,  can  for  a  mo- 
ment doubt  the  power  of  the  dramatic  instinct 
or  question  its  place  in  the  modern  schoolroom. 


XII 

DEBATES 

ONE  of  the  oldest  forms  of  discussion  sacred  to 
educational  memory  from  the  district  school  to 
the  college  is  the  prepared  debate. 

We  find  accounts  of  public  debating  in  the  me- 
dieval universities  and  in  colonial  curriculums. 
"To  talk  on  one's  feet"  is  an  art  which  has  been 
practiced  wherever  men  have  attempted  to  per- 
suade or  reason  with  their  fellows  from  Socrates 
to  Lincoln. 

The  debate  is  valuable  because  it  teaches  first 
the  art  of  fluent  English  expression.  In  order  to 
debate  at  all,  one  must  be  able  to  talk;  he  must 
also  talk  clearly,  accurately,  definitely.  He  must 
clothe  his  ideas  rapidly  in  language  which  is  con- 
vincing and  persuasive.  Vague  statements,  fal- 
tering expressions,  incoherent  remarks  end  in 
confusion  and  disgrace.  The  power  to  speak  to 
the  point  is  no  mean  gift.  It  is  hard  to  cultivate 
and  the  debate  is  a  powerful  factor  in  its  develop- 
ment. 

Secondly,  the  debate  teaches  self-confidence. 

103 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

The  debater  must  forget  himself  in  his  subject. 
His  desire  to  win  his  argument  will  cause  him  to 
lose  the  natural  diffidence  and  self-consciousness 
which  often  overwhelm  young  speakers  before  an 
audience.  Shy  girls  who  never  say  much  in  a 
class  recitation  become  surprisingly  fluent  when 
they  find  themselves  champions  for  their  side  in 
a  hot  debate. 

A  third  debate  value  is  the  knowledge  it  neces- 
sarily gives  of  the  rules  and  limitations  of  what 
is  called  parliamentary  law.  The  formality  and 
procedure  observed  in  even  a  simple  school  de- 
bate impresses  the  youthful  citizen  and  prepares 
him  for  the  practical  later  experiences  in  the 
lodge  and  political  meeting. 

A  fourth  value  is  the  everyday  virtue  of  learn- 
ing how  to  control  one's  temper.  The  give-and- 
take  of  the  debate,  the  power  to  hear  a  cherished 
argument  torn  to  pieces,  ridiculed,  and  rejected, 
and  yet  maintain  one's  poise  and  answer  politely, 
is  a  social  training  that  is  a  fine  preparation  for 
any  later  business  in  life. 

To  this  may  be  added  the  keenness  of  thought, 
the  quick  wit  required  to  answer  an  unexpected 
attack,  or  to  meet  some  new  argument  with  a 
better  one. 

Children  find  this  difficult  to  do.  They  can 
104 


DEBATES 

summarize  or  report  statements  they  have 
learned,  but  find  it  hard  to  think  of  new  material 
or  make  a  good  rebuttal. 

The  encounter  sharpens  their  intelligence,  how- 
ever, and  the  mental  energy  and  activity  en- 
gendered is  never  wasted.  A  class  is  usually  ex- 
tremely alert  during  a  debate.  Even  the  dullest 
are  wide  awake  and  eager  to  help  in  the  battle 
of  wits. 

Last,  but  not  least,  the  debate  is  the  antidote 
for  careless  thinking  or  superficial  study.  If  the 
debaters  do  not  know  the  subject,  they  are  liter- 
ally lost.  Nothing  is  so  fatal  as  poor  preparation 
in  a  debate.  The  boy  or  girl  who  is  the  best  pre- 
pared is  usually  the  winner,  while  the  ineffective 
speaker  is  the  pupil  whose  argument  will  not 
stand  attack. 

Children  learn  this  truth  quickly,  and  a  whole 
class  will  study  eagerly  the  details  of  some  sub- 
ject for  a  class  debate  when  the  same  ground  in 
an  ordinary  lesson  would  be  explored  with  small 
enthusiasm.  The  debate,  therefore,  has  value  as 
a  method  of  arousing  interest  and  creating  a 
certain  mental  atmosphere  in  the  classroom. 

In  the  seventh  or  eighth  grades  or  in  the  junior 
high  school,  the  debate  would  be  naturally  some- 
what elementary  in  character.  It  should  be  less 

105 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

formally  conducted  than  in  high  school  or  col- 
lege. As  many  as  possible  should  take  part  in  it, 
and  the  subjects  should  be  interesting  and  easily 
grasped  by  the  pupils. 

The  ordinary  procedure  of  the  debate  is  de- 
scribed in  any  manual  of  parliamentary  law  and 
is  also  given  in  many  books  on  English  composi- 
tion. The  strictest  forms  are  not  necessary  in  a 
simple  school  debate,  although  a  certain  order 
and  dignity  adds  to  the  interest  and  power  of  the 
exercise.  Children  who  do  not  take  definite  part 
in  actual  argument  should  assist  the  leaders  in 
the  preparation  of  material  or  contribute  some- 
thing in  the  way  of  rebuttal.  If  debates  take 
place  often,  different  leaders  should  always  be 
chosen. 

Informal  debates  between  two  classes  or  two 
sections  of  a  class  may  be  used  during  a  recita- 
tion period.  Each  group  should  choose  its  leader 
and  arrange  the  sides. 

History  and  civics  offer  many  suggestions 
which  make  enlivening  debates. 

The  discussion  of  a  dead  issue  is  less  valuable 
to  a  class  than  some  everyday  problem  whose 
solution  has  some  practical  bearing  on  life.  A 
debate  on  the  slave  question  seems  futile  to-day, 
but  a  debate  on  the  future  of  the  Philippines 
106 


DEBATES 

might  be  worth  while.  Such  subjects  as,  "Re- 
solved, that  the  French  explorers  made  a  greater 
permanent  contribution  to  American  history  than 
the  Spanish  explorers,"  or,  "Resolved,  that  the 
Stamp  Act  was  a  legal  tax,"  or,  "Resolved,  that 
Alexander  Hamilton  rendered  greater  services 
to  the  nation  than  Thomas  Jefferson,"  will  stir 
a  class  to  interested  discussion.  Present-day 
subjects,  as,  "Shall  we  have  military  training 
in  school?"  "Shall  our  town  adopt  commission 
government?"  "Ought  immigration  to  be  re- 
stricted?" "Ought  the  President  to  be  elected 
by  popular  vote?"  "Has  woman  suffrage  been 
successful  in  actual  practice?"  are  a  few  illus- 
trations of  modern  problems  which  might  be 
handled  by  a  class  about  to  enter  the  high 
school.  The  treatment  of  the  topics  will  be  some- 
what crude  and  superficial,  but  the  material  in- 
volved is  not  above  their  comprehension,  whereas 
such  a  question  as  the  Government  ownership  of 
railways  or  certain  economic  and  political  prob- 
lems are  utterly  unfit  for  consideration  by  ele- 
mentary-school children. 

If  possible,  town  or  community  or  school  ques- 
tions should  be  used  for  debates.    These  are 
especially  interesting  and  valuable.  The  necessity 
for  new  parks,  for  playgrounds,  for  some  school 
107 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

Improvement,  or  some  new  school  rule  are  practi- 
cal subjects  for  debate. 

The  chief  criticisms  of  the  use  of  the  debate  in 
school  are,  first,  the  time  taken  from  other  school 
work  to  prepare  the  subject,  and  secondly,  the 
small  percentage  of  children  who  take  an  active 
part  in  the  actual  exercise.  These  difficulties  pre- 
vent the  debate  from  becoming  a  frequently  used 
device. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  debate  is  an  excellent 
stimulus  to  a  class.  It  arouses  class  spirit  and 
enthusiasm.  It  presents  valuable  knowledge  in 
a  striking  and  dramatic  way.  It  gives  the  pupils 
a  sense  of  the  power  of  formal  argument  and  a 
balanced  mental  poise.  It  teaches  the  value  of 
facts  and  the  weakness  of  mere  rumor,  gossip, 
or  even  newspaper  assertions. 

Therefore,  the  judicious  use  of  the  debate  in 
the  higher  grades  of  the  elementary  school  is  both 
helpful  and  interesting. 


XIII 

RELATION  OF  HISTORY  TO  GEOGRAPHY 

THE  necessity  and  value  of  geography  as  a  funda- 
mental part  of  all  history  teaching  has  been  al- 
ready discussed  in  previous  chapters. 

History,  however,  is  so  largely  conditioned 
upon  geographical  and  economic  environment 
that  it  may  be  worth  while  to  emphasize  again 
this  significant  relationship. 

Climate,  soil,  waterways,  mountain  systems, 
these  everyday  natural  phenomena,  are  the  real 
causes  that  decide  the  fate  of  nations  and  give 
character  to  their  history. 

Just  as  daily  life  makes  the  man,  shapes  his 
ideals,  and  creates  his  mental  atmosphere,  so  does 
the  physical  environment  create  and  shape  the 
outlook,  the  ambitions,  the  very  soul  of  a  people. 

Why  was  ancient  Greece  so  individual  in  de- 
velopment, so  weak  politically,  yet  so  brilliant 
and  constructive  in  art  and  literature?  Her 
mountain  barriers  and  her  stimulating  climate 
answer  us.  The  great  history  of  Great  Britain  is 
but  the  history  of  a  group  of  islands  "set  in  the 
109 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

silver  sea."  Scotch  rigidity  of  life,  the  pleasant 
manners  of  the  Italian,  the  dull  phlegm  of  the 
Esquimaux  are  but  the  resultants  of  the  climate 
in  which  they  are  bred. 

The  world's  most  stupendous  wars  have  been 
usually  fought  because  of  some  economic  or 
geographic  question.  Cotton-raising  and  new 
cotton  machinery  largely  caused  the  Civil  War, 
while  the  gigantic  struggle  of  the  present  day  is, 
as  we  know,  born  of  desire  for  national  expansion 
and  conflicting  attempts  to  secure  greater  sea 
power  and  land  dominion. 

America  has  become  the  greatest  commercial 
and  manufacturing  nation  in  the  world.  Every- 
where her  people  are  carrying  her  products  and 
seeking  new  avenues  for  her  trade;  the  inten- 
sive study  of  geography  is  therefore  more  impor- 
tant than  ever.  The  geographical  element  in  his- 
tory has  not  been  sufficiently  emphasized  in  our 
schools. 

The  child  naturally  sees  each  subject  as  a 
separate  group  of  facts  to  be  studied  by  itself. 
He  does  not  mentally  relate  them.  Modern 
methods  of  education  have  sought  earnestly  to 
break  down  these  barriers  and  present  this  knowl- 
edge hi  some  unified  way. 

The  constant  use  of  the  map,  the  chart,  the 
no 


HISTORY  AND  GEOGRAPHY 

relief  map,  the  lantern  lecture  talk,  the  continual 
reference  to  the  geography  element  in  the  lesson 
material  are  practical  ways  of  enforcing  this  ideal. 

In  primary-history  stories  geography  and  his- 
tory are  literally  one.  Primitive  life  is  based  on 
the  out-of-doors  world.  The  child  who  hears 
about  the  cave-dwellers  or  studies  the  way  the 
Indian  made  his  home,  worked,  journeyed,  or 
played,  studies  the  forest,  the  river,  the  uses  of 
fire  and  clay,  the  trapping  of  wild  animals,  the 
raising  of  corn  and  tobacco.  If  he  studies  the 
desert  life,  he  meets  the  Arab  and  the  Nile;  he 
hears  of  Joseph  and  his  adventures  and  of  the  big 
brothers  who  went  down  to  Egypt  to  buy  corn. 

The  Columbus  story  is  a  geography  story. 
The  peculiar  ideas  men  had  about  the  ocean  and 
the  big  world,  the  green  islands  the  Spaniards 
found,  the  Indians  who  were  there  —  all  these 
are  as  important  factors  in  the  story  as  the  tale 
of  Isabella  and  her  jewels. 

In  teaching  colonial  life  the  variety  in  customs, 
business,  amusements,  even  dress,  may  be  traced 
to  soil  and  climate  as  well  as  to  religion  and 
politics.  Why  did  the  New  England  boy  go  to  a 
town  school  while  his  far-away  Virginia  cousin 
had  a  tutor  in  the  house?  Why  were  there  so 
many  villages  in  New  York  and  Massachusetts 
in 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

and  no  towns  in  the  Carolinas  except  along  the 
coast? 

As  has  been  suggested,  the  geographical  ele- 
ment is  fundamental  in  treating  the  colonial 
period.  The  actual  settlements  were  aided  or 
hindered  by  the  soil  and  mountain  systems,  the 
river  power,  the  harbors,  the  climate  found  by 
the  settlers  who  first  attempted  to  conquer  the 
vast  American  continent.  A  series  of  geography 
lessons  showing  the  westward  movement  from 
1607  to  the  present  day  would  be  a  good  intro- 
duction to  seventh-grade  study  of  settlements. 
Special  topics  on  transportation  facilities  might 
be  used  to  advantage  in  studying  each  period  of 
migration. 

The  Indian  trail,  the  stage-coach,  the  flatboat, 
to  the  modern  Union  Pacific  express  train,  form 
a  series  of  fascinating  studies  for  this  grade. 

Geography  illuminates  many  other  history 
problems.  Why  were  the  States  so  jealous  of  one 
another,  so  hard  to  unite  in  a  national  union? 
What  was  the  reason  the  democratic  and  peace- 
loving  Jefferson  so  eagerly  desired  to  buy  New 
Orleans  and  was  willing  "to  stretch  the  Constitu- 
tion until  it  cracked"  to  obtain  Louisiana? 

What  caused  the  War  of  1812?  What  has  been 
the  effect  of  the  Erie  Canal  upon  our  history? 
112 


HISTORY  AND  GEOGRAPHY 

What  led  to  the  desire  for  Mexican  territory  and 
finally  won  the  gold-fields  of  California? 

The  fierce  struggle  over  the  slave  acts  was 
really  a  contest  over  land  possessions. 

The  teacher  and  the  class  will  find  innumerable 
opportunities  from  material  in  American  history 
to  prove  that  geography  and  economic  conditions 
have  shaped  the  destiny  of  the  Nation. 

Such  a  point  of  view  also  clarifies  many  pres- 
ent-day problems.  What  do  we  mean  by  the 
"New  South"?  What  shall  we  do  about  the  im- 
migration to  our  cities?  What  will  become  of  the 
country  districts?  What  is  the  value  of  the  great 
conservation  movements?  What  have  the  rail- 
roads done  for  us?  These  questions  will  enliven 
any  history  class. 

The  geographic  and  economic  answer  is,  how- 
ever, not  the  only  answer  to  all  problems. 

While  this  point  of  view  is  valuable  and  ex- 
plains much  that  we  see,  it  does  not  explain 
everything.  Men  have  always  been  moved  to 
action  by  motives  other  than  the  "bread-and- 
butter"  motive,  and  they  still  are.  We  should 
teach  a  dangerous  and  materialistic  history  if  we 
did  not  show  that  social,  religious,  and  patriotic 
ideals  have  always  swayed  and  often  ultimately 
decided  the  judgments  of  our  people. 

"3 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

If  cotton  and  the  cotton  gin  largely  produced 
the  conditions  that  caused  the  Civil  War,  the 
great  moral  issue  underneath  finally  forced  the 
conflict. 

From  the  higher  elementary  grades  the  ma- 
jority of  children  pass  out  into  the  business  of 
life.  They  accept  the  ideals  they  have  learned 
in  the  schoolroom.  While  the  teacher  of  history 
realizes  the  enormous  significance  of  this  modern 
interpretation  of  events  which  stresses  so  heavily 
the  purely  material  side,  she  should  never  forget 
to  teach  that  "man  does  not  live  by  bread 
alone,"  and  that  the  history  of  a  nation  is  as 
much  the  history  of  its  soul  as  of  its  body. 
Washington  at  Valley  Forge  and  Lincoln  at 
Gettysburg,  although  they  had  been  moulded  by 
the  environment  into  which  they  were  born,  still 
suffered,  endured,  and  conquered  because  they 
were  swayed  by  spiritual  forces  that  could  never 
be  measured  or  explained  by  any  purely  physical 
interpretation. 


XIV 

CONCERNING  ENGLISH 

THAT  English  expression  spoken  or  written  is  a 
subject  isolated  and  solitary  has  long  since  been 
denied  by  modern  educators. 

Teachers  believe  to-day  that  a  child  should  be 
taught  to  spell  names  and  places  in  the  history 
or  geography  lesson  with  as  much  care  as  he  is 
taught  to  spell  in  the  so-called  English  lesson. 
They  think  that  mistakes  in  grammatical  form 
are  as  important  when  a  pupil  is  reciting  on  the 
Civil  War  as  when  he  is  discussing  a  poem  of 
Whittier's. 

The  whole  school  atmosphere  should  empha- 
size the  correct  and  vigorous  use  of  the  noble 
language  we  call  "English." 

No  problem  is,  however,  more  difficult  for  the 
ordinary  teacher  to  solve  than  this  one  of  teach- 
ing children  to  think,  spell,  and  write  "good 
English." 

In  our  American  schools  we  labor  against  over- 
whelming obstacles.  Many  thousands  of  foreign 

"5 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

children,  speaking  at  home  foreign  languages, 
bring  into  our  classes  a  foreign  idiom  which  is 
almost  impossible  to  eradicate. 

Others  living  in  an  environment  which  pro- 
duces a  cheap,  slangy,  incorrect  English  recite 
and  write  crudely  and  inaccurately.  Some  chil- 
dren lack  eye  and  ear^perception  and  seem  in- 
capable of  grasping  the  sound  of  words  or  their 
proper  written  forms.  Certain  pupils  who  speak 
a  moderately  correct  English  never  acquire  any 
vocabulary  and  struggle  through  their  educa- 
tional career  with  a  pitifully  meager  outfit  of 
words. 

These  and  many  other  difficulties  hundreds  of 
hard-working  elementary  teachers  meet  daily  in 
their  work,  and  they  frequently  lose  heart  in  the 
conflict. 

This  book  makes  no  attempt  to  offer  any  com- 
plete solution  to  this  great  problem.  It  can  only 
suggest  that  eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of  good 
English,  even  more  than  it  is  of  liberty.  It  can 
but  urge  the  constant,  everyday  emphasis  upon 
English  at  all  times  and  in  all  lessons.  The  child 
should  be  taught  that  much  of  his  future  success 
in  business  or  professional  life  depends  upon  his 
use  of  his  own  language.  Well-paid  positions  de- 
mand a  proper  knowledge  of  the  national  tongue. 
116 


CONCERNING  ENGLISH 

Since  the  only  way  to  acquire  this  is  to  speak  and 
write  English  constantly,  the  daily  history  lesson 
is  an  excellent  medium  for  drill  in  the  subject,  as 
it  lends  itself  to  oral  and  written  expression  in 
many  forms. 

The  teacher  herself  should  be  the  exponent  of 
this  doctrine.  Whether  it  be  the  telling  of  a  story 
or  the  explanation  of  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Act,  she  should  give  it  with  clearness  and  sim- 
plicity. Slip-shod  pronunciation,  common  or  vul- 
gar phrases,  react  on  the  children  at  once. 

Because  a  child  acquires  with  extraordinary 
facility  new  words  and  new  modes  of  expression, 
we  should  seek  to  make  each  history  lesson  a 
model  in  English  form.  We  correct  misspelled 
words  or  flagrant  grammatical  errors,  but  allow 
such  careless  phrases  as  "The  President  passed 
the  Embargo  Act,"  or,  "The  Indians  went 
against  the  French,"  to  pass  unchallenged. 

Constant  nagging  and  criticism  whenever  a 
pupil  recites  is,  of  course,  unwise  and  dishearten- 
ing and  must  be  avoided.  Children,  however,  like 
good  English.  They  enjoy  hearing  it  and  are 
keen  critics  when  they  are  able  to  distinguish 
mistakes.  Frequent  explanations  as  to  the  mean- 
ing of  words  will  give  them  a  sense  of  mastery 
and  a  pride  in  their  own  knowledge  which  will 
117 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

assist  materially  in  their  appreciation  of  the  lan- 
guage and  their  ability  to  use  it. 

The  problem  of  the  child  who  talks  bad  English 
fluently  is  balanced  by  the  pupil  who  possesses 
a  vocabulary  of  six  adjectives,  "grand,"  "good," 
"brave,"  "kind,"  "bad,"  "awful,"  which  she 
applies  to  all  events  and  all  men.  The  girl  who 
said,  "Alexander  the  Great  was  a  nice  young 
man,"  represents  this  type  of  inarticulate  youth. 

To  remedy  this  weakness,  descriptions  and 
characterizations  should  be  constantly  employed. 
Such  children  should  be  personally  introduced  to 
new  words  and  encouraged  to  use  them.  Oral  and 
written  exercises  which  require  some  imagina- 
tion should  be  required  of  them.  Such  subjects 
as  a  visit  to  an  Indian  camp,  a  scene  at  a  tour- 
nament, a  Maypole  dance  in  old  Virginia,  a  mod- 
ern suffrage  parade,  or  character  sketches  which 
need  vivid  word  painting  of  personages  like 
Daniel  Boone  or  Benjamin  Franklin  or  Theodore 
Roosevelt,  present  material  which  may  create  a 
wider  vocabulary. 

The  special  topic,  the  class  play,  the  drama- 
tized story,  and  the  class  debate  are  opportuni- 
ties that  may  be  turned  to  golden  account  in 
emphasizing  the  use  of  good  English. 

In  a  debate  in  an  eighth  grade,  one  of  the 
118 


CONCERNING  ENGLISH 

leaders  was  sharply  criticized  by  the  judges,  his 
classmates,  for  his  slangy  and  crude  language  in 
the  rebuttal.  "We  do  not  think  he  treated  the 
class  or  the  subject  with  proper  respect,"  was 
their  verdict.  A  dozen  lessons  in  English  expres- 
sion were  less  effective  than  this  outburst  of 
public  opinion.  The  boy  sought  eagerly  to  win 
back  his  past  prestige,  and  on  his  next  appear- 
ance before  the  class  a  dignified  special  topic,  on 
"What  Pan- Americanism  Means,"  was  solemnly 
presented  in  an  English  style  that  greatly  im- 
pressed his  former  critics. 

Written  English  requires  the  same  vigilance. 
The  test  or  written  exercise  in  history  should  be 
marked  for  spelling  and  English  construction  as 
well  as  for  facts. 

Why  should  an  account  of  the  Louisiana  Pur- 
chase be  considered  perfect  when  the  writer  has 
misspelled  Napoleon  or  Louisiana?  Blackboard 
exercises  are  excellent  opportunities  for  writing 
correctly  the  English  language. 

Notebooks  if  used  by  the  class  should  be  cor- 
rected and  returned  by  the  teacher. 

If  the  pupils  realize  that  a  paper  handed  to  the 
teacher  must  be  neatly  written,  correctly  spelled, 
and  clearly  expressed,  they  are  careful  hi  its  prep- 
aration. On  the  other  hand,  the  teacher  should 
119 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

give  a  sufficient  amount  of  time  to  a  class  when 
they  are  writing  an  exercise  to  enable  them  to  do 
the  work  properly  and  without  nervous  strain 
and  hurry.  A  list  of  questions  that  cannot  pos- 
sibly be  answered  during  the  period  assigned 
causes  mental  confusion  and  creates  inaccuracy. 

Besides  the  emphasis  on  spoken  and  written 
English  in  history  teaching,  the  rich  treasure 
house  of  literature  is  always  open  to  the  history 
student.  Modern  textbooks  suggest  prose  and 
poetry  whose  use  gives  color  and  beauty  to  the 
daily  lesson. 

Material  of  this  kind  has  been  referred  to  in 
the  chapter  on  "  Outside  Readings."  Poetry  from 
Hiawatha  and  The  Song  of  Marion's  Men  to 
Whitman's  My  Captain  are  the  common  heritage 
of  every  American  child.  Such  a  poem  as  Low- 
ell's The  Crisis  will  thrill  a  class  to-day  as  truly 
as  it  did  their  grandfathers  in  1860. 

Such  stories  as  The  Man  Without  a  Country, 
The  Perfect  Tribute,  and  The  Crisis  are  too  well 
known  to  need  any  special  mention,  yet  many 
children  have  never  read  them.  The  old  custom 
of  reading  aloud  a  good  story  on  Friday  after- 
noons is  still  well  worthy  of  practice,  especially 
if  the  reading  be  done  by  various  members  of 
the  class. 

1 20 


CONCERNING  ENGLISH 

Excellent  illustrations  in  the  use  of  good  Eng- 
lish may  be  drawn  from  present-day  sources. 
President  Wilson's  famous  and  stirring  messages 
to  Congress,  Secretary  Lane's  "  The  Makers  of 
the  Flag,"  current  magazine  poetry,  and  descrip- 
tive articles  which  deal  with  present-day  prob- 
lems offer  material  which  should  be  used  in  every 
classroom.  These  not  only  express  ideals  of  pa- 
triotism, they  clothe  the  thought  in  a  noble  and 
stimulating  style. 

The  teaching  of  good  English  is  largely  the 
teaching  of  certain  habits  of  thought  and  expres- 
sion. No  book  can  teach  this  entirely.  It  de- 
pends upon  the  teacher's  personality  more  than 
any  other  subject  taught  in  our  schools. 


XV 

CONCERNING  HOLIDAYS 

THE  days  we  keep  with  honor  in  our  American 
schools  are  wonderful  days.  Christmas  Day, 
which  celebrates  the  most  important  event  in 
human  history;  Thanksgiving  Day,  which  gives 
us  a  perfect  story  of  courage  and  pathos,  humor 
and  religion;  Columbus  Day,  a  memory  of  the 
world's  most  daring  adventure;  Washington's 
and  Lincoln's  birthdays,  the  story  of  two  lives, 
crowded  with  dramatic  action,  full  of  passionate 
excitements,  and  tragic  and  triumphant  hours; 
Memorial  Day  —  no  other  country  keeps  so 
tender  and  beautiful  a  festival,  although  in  the 
future  all  Europe  will  celebrate  many  such  days; 
Flag  Day,  with  its  color  and  stirring  memories; 
Fourth  of  July,  —  the  nation's  birthday,  —  a 
day  sacred  to  every  American,  rich  with  noble 
pictures  of  the  past  and  solemn  hopes  for  the 
greater  years  to  come.  These  are  the  chief  of  our 
festivals;  how  shall  we  celebrate  them?  Perhaps 
the  first  suggestion  should  be  a  plea  for  origi- 
nality and  variety. 

122 


CONCERNING  HOLIDAYS 

Take  for  illustration  the  programs  for  use  on 
Lincoln's  or  Washington's  birthday. 

The  child  who  passes  from  grade  to  grade  and 
annually  recites  the  Gettysburg  Address,  and  hears 
about  the  log  cabin  and  Lincoln's  early  hardships, 
will  in  time  weary  of  these  themes  and  cease  to 
feel  any  special  thrill  when  the  1 2th  of  February 
arrives.  Every  teacher  should  realize  that  the 
life  of  Lincoln  is  full  of  extraordinary  material. 
It  is  possible  to  present  him  under  many  aspects, 
as  pioneer,  lawyer,  orator,  writer,  politician, 
ruler,  emancipator,  a  commander  of  armies,  a 
master  of  men.  Scenes  from  this  varied  career 
may  be  used  in  different  classes  so  that  a  progres- 
sive picture  may  be  created  for  the  child,  a  pic- 
ture which  portrays  the  historic  Lincoln. 

The  first  three  grades  might  present  in  dif- 
ferent ways  the  early  life  of  Lincoln:  the  pio- 
neer existence  in  Kentucky;  the  hardships,  the 
struggle  for  knowledge;  Lincoln's  love  of  animals 
and  children;  his  industry  and  honesty  and  thrift 
could  be  emphasized. 

The  fourth  and  fifth  grades,  where  biography 
is  usually  studied,  should  give  the  story  of  his 
life  in  simple  but  dramatic  form. 

In  the  sixth,  seventh,  and  eighth  years,  a  more 
detailed  account  of  the  various  phases  of  the 
123 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

famous  narrative  could  be  considered:  the  slav- 
ery question,  the  debates  with  Douglas,  Lincoln 
as  a  lawyer,  Lincoln  in  the  war.  Scenes  could 
be  given  to  illustrate  the  problems  which  he  had 
to  solve;  difficulties  with  generals,  the  making 
of  the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  the  visit  to 
Richmond,  and  the  call  on  General  Pickett's 
family  might  be  used. 

Such  books  as  The  Crisis,  The  Perfect  Tribute, 
The  Toy  Shop,  although  fiction,  are  full  of  charm- 
ing bits  of  description  and  dramatic  scenes  that 
may  be  easily  arranged  for  the  higher  elementary 
grades. 

Poems,  as  Punch's  Apology  to  Lincoln,  printed 
a  month  after  his  death,  is  an  excellent  recitation 
for  an  upper  grade.  A  recent  poem  by  Vachel 
Lindsey,  Lincoln  Walks  at  Midnight,  is  very  suit- 
able for  a  present-day  celebration. 

In  an  eighth  grade  or  the  junior  high  school  a 
class  might  use  as  a  new  motive  the  modern  con- 
ception of  Lincoln  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
artist.  Famous  statues  might  be  discussed,  as 
that  by  Saint- Gaudens  in  Chicago;  the  Borghlum 
statue  in  Newark,  one  of  the  noblest  pieces  of 
bronze  hi  the  world;  and  the  very  recent  statue 
made  by  George  Gray  Barnard  for  the  Union  The- 
ological Seminary  in  New  York  City.  The  sugges- 
124 


CONCERNING  HOLIDAYS 

tion  that  a  replica  of  this  statue  be  erected  in 
London  has  caused  much  criticism  and  discussion. 
Why  is  the  statue  criticized  ?  Does  it  give  us  a 
true  conception  of  Lincoln  ?  Children  will  enjoy 
such  a  discussion,  and  the  various  artistic  ideals 
presented  by  such  an  exercise  are  especially  help- 
ful to  our  American  school  communities.  Post- 
cards and  magazine  pictures  can  be  obtained  of 
them,  and  the  children  will  not  only  talk  about 
Lincoln,  but  they  will  also  become  acquainted 
with  the  names  and  work  of  America's  great 
sculptors. 

Washington  has  been  peculiarly  the  victim  of 
festival  celebrations.  Lincoln  is  usually  more 
vividly  and  humanly  treated  than  Washington, 
and  the  average  boy  or  girl  carries  from  school  a 
genuine  affection  for  him,  while  they  feel  for 
Washington  merely  a  chilly  respect. 

It  is  hopeless  to  combat  now  the  "hatchet 
story"  which  is  annually  told  to  thousands  of 
children.  That  this  whole  episode  is  absolutely 
false,  and  was  invented  after  Washington's 
death  by  an  almanac  writer  by  the  name  of 
Weems,  has  never  been  understood  by  the 
American  people.  The  myth  is  so  firmly  fas- 
tened in  our  educational  system  that  it  would  be 
useless  to  attempt  to  eradicate  it.  Hatchets  and 
125 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

cherry  trees  can  be  made  by  the  primary  grades 
in  illustrative  work,  and  while  the  fable  is  not 
especially  inspiring,  it  does  not  injure  the  memory 
of  the  founder  of  the  Republic.  The  only  necessity 
that  should  be  urged  upon  the  teacher  is  to  pre- 
sent to  the  children,  in  later  years,  the  true  figure 
of  Washington. 

Washington  did  many  things  worth  studying 
about  besides  spending  the  winter  at  Valley 
Forge  and  crossing  the  Delaware. 

In  the  first  three  years  the  boyhood  life  may 
be  studied.  This  would  present  the  picture  of  the 
old  plantation  in  the  South,  the  big  house  and 
the  tobacco  fields,  the  journey  to  school  in  the 
morning,  the  gallant  figure  of  the  little  Virginian, 
his  bravery  and  truthfulness,  and  happy  home 
life. 

In  a  fourth  or  fifth  grade  Washington's  part  in 
the  French  and  Indian  War  might  be  used.  For 
instance,  a  little  play  could  be  arranged  showing 
his  journey  to  the  French  forts.  The  children 
could  dramatize  his  departure  from  Virginia,  his 
adventures  with  the  Indians  on  the  way,  his 
reception  by  the  French  commanders,  his  thrill- 
ing return  across  the  Ohio  to  his  home.  Hand 
work  could  be  used  with  such  a  play;  Colonial 
hats,  Indian  ornaments,  the  official  letter  he  car- 
126 


CONCERNING  HOLIDAYS 

ried,  and  the  French  and  English  flags  might  be 
made. 

The  sixth  and  seventh  grades  might  study 
Washington  in  the  Revolution.  Here  there  is  a 
wealth  of  interesting  material:  the  scene  in  1775 
when  his  name  was  proposed  for  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  little  Continental  Army,  scenes 
with  Lafayette  and  Steuben,  Valley  Forge  and 
Trenton,  episodes  of  various  kinds  which  show 
his  steadfast  courage,  his  noble  outlook  on  life, 
his  balanced  judgment,  his  unfailing  courtesy. 
His  sorrow  at  Arnold's  treason,  his  treatment  of 
the  men  who  maligned  him,  as  Gates  and  Lee, 
are  good  lessons  in  generosity  and  magnanimity. 
The  final  hour  in  Fraunces  Tavern,  New  York 
City,  where  he  said  his  tender  farewell  to  the 
men  who  had  served  with  him  through  the  long 
years  of  war,  should  not  be  omitted.  Washing- 
ton's career  as  President  abounds  with  interest 
for  eighth-  or  ninth-year  pupils. 

Original  theme  work  or  dramatic  characteriza- 
tion could  show  here  his  struggle  with  the  prob- 
lems of  his  time.  A  Cabinet  meeting  with 
Hamilton  and  Jefferson  discussing  their  opposing 
views  across  the  table;  Washington  reading  The 
Aurora,  and  bitterly  indignant  over  the  false  and 
malicious  newspaper  attacks  upon  him;  Wash- 
127 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

ington  receiving  Genet  and  proclaiming  his  at- 
titude upon  Neutrality.  These  are  all  possible 
episodes  whose  use  in  the  school  would  empha- 
size the  character  of  the  man,  "who,"  says  an 
English  writer,  "has  made  sacred  the  word 
'liberty'  throughout  the  world."  "No  nobler 
figure,"  writes  another,  "ever  stood  in  the  fore- 
front of  a  nation's  history."  If  this  is  the  British 
tribute,  surely  we  Americans  should  make  Wash- 
ington a  living  figure  in  our  schools. 

The  plan  thus  sketched  is  based  upon  the 
theory  of  progressive  class-work  in  an  ordinary 
public  school.  In  schools  where  children  leave 
before  the  upper  grades  are  reached,  changes  and 
adaptations  would  be  necessary  in  using  such  a 
program. 

In  all  our  school  celebrations,  the  underlying 
ideas  should  be  individual  and  social  responsi- 
bility and  patriotic  service.  A  modern  Memorial 
Day  celebration  should  not  only  portray  the 
heroism  of  the  men  who  fell  during  the  Civil  and 
Spanish  Wars,  but  it  should  present  the  present- 
day  heroes  of  the  nation.  Soldiers,  sailors,  Red 
Cross  nurses  and  doctors,  engineers,  etc.,  work- 
ers of  every  class  or  rank  in  the  nation's  service, 
should  be  mentioned,  and  their  devotion  under- 
stood and  praised.  A  series  of  tableaux,  speeches, 
128 


CONCERNING  HOLIDAYS 

and  recitations  could  be  prepared  which  would 
emphasize  this  spirit  of  sacrifice.  The  children 
should  be  taught  that  the  belief  in  duty,  the 
power  of  self-sacrifice,  are  not  mere  words,  but 
vital  realities  to  all  true  Americans. 

If  the  Pilgrims  had  been  afraid  to  venture 
across  the  sea,  if  Washington  had  preferred  the 
comfort  and  security  of  Mount  Vernon  to  the 
dangers  and  uncertainties  of  a  perilous  war,  if 
Lincoln  had  been  less  steadfast,  patient,  and  de- 
termined as  he  trod  the  dark  and  solitary  path 
that  led  to  a  martyr's  grave,  there  would  be  no 
America  to  celebrate  in  song  and  festival. 

Let  us  see  to  it  that  our  children  understand 
that  they  inherit  the  responsibility  as  well  as  the 
glory  of  citizenship.  "He  alone  is  base,"  says 
Emerson,  "and  that  is  the  one  base  thing  in  the 
universe,  to  receive  benefits  and  confer  none." 
No  lesson  is  more  important  than  this  one,  for 
"the  future  of  the  Republic"  is,  indeed,  "shaped 
in  our  schools." 

Our  national  holidays  should  be  spiritual 
power-houses  from  which  we  can  generate  a 
vast  current  which  will  vivify  and  ennoble  the 
America  that  is  to  be. 

Music,  symbolic  pageants,  tableaux,  plays, 
and  other  devices  should  be  introduced  into  the 
129 


THE  TEACHING  OF  HISTORY 

programs.  Many  school  magazines  publish  help- 
ful suggestions  for  festival  days  which  a  teacher 
can  adopt  for  her  classroom.  Children  enjoy  as- 
sisting in  the  program-making  and  a  commit- 
tee of  pupils  will  often  add  original  and  inter- 
esting features  to  a  holiday  celebration. 

The  following  brief  list  of  books  contains  help- 
ful and  valuable  school  material:  — 

Denton,  Holiday  Facts  and  Fancies.    Educational 

Publishing  Company. 
Horsford,  Stories  of  our  Holidays.    Silver,  Burdett 

&  Company. 

Merington,  Holiday  Plays.  Duffield  Company. 
Olcott,  Good  Stories  for  Great  Holidays.   Houghton 

Mifflin  Company. 

Patten,  The  Year's  Festivals.  Dana  Estes  Company. 
Schauffler,  Our  American  Holidays  (Series).  Moffat 

Yard  Company. 
Stevenson,   Days  and  Deeds   (prose   and  poetry). 

Doubleday,  Page  &  Company. 


OUTLINE 

I.  THE  VALUE  OF  HISTORY  IN  THE  ELEMENTARY 

SCHOOL 

1.  History  explains  the  present i 

2.  History  develops  the  reasoning  power  and  the 

balanced  judgment 4 

3.  History  stimulates  the  imagination  and  inter- 

ests the  child  in  historical  reading 6 

4.  History  as  a  guide  to  conduct 8 

II.  THE    HISTORY    STORY    IN    THE    PRIMARY 

GRADES 

1.  The  oral  history  story 10 

a.  The  first  requirement:  enthusiasm 10 

b.  The  second  requirement:  adequate  prep- 

aration       ii 

c.  The  third  requirement:  arrangement  in 

logical  sequence n 

d.  The  fourth  outline:  clothing  the  story. . .  n 

2.  The  use  of  the  question 12 

3.  The  personal  element 12 

III.  THE   BIOGRAPHICAL   STORY   IN  THE 
INTERMEDIATE  GRADES 

i.  Definite  aims  in  presentation T 15 

a.  The  appeal  to  the  heroic  and  dramatic. . .     16 

b.  Bringing  out  the  character  of  the  period .     16 

c.  Unifying  the  sequence 16 

d.  Preparing  the  way  for  connected  textbook 

study 17 


OUTLINE 

2.  Dramatization  for  review  work 19 

3.  Interesting  games  as  review  devices 20 

IV.  THE  USE  OF  THE  HISTORY  TEXTBOOK 

1.  Serious  study  begins  with  the  textbook 22 

2.  Preliminary  examination  of  the  textbook 23 

V.  THE  ASSIGNMENT  OF  THE  LESSON 

1.  The  assignment  is  fundamental 25 

2.  Some  faults  in  lesson  assignment 25 

3.  The  tune  for  lesson  assignment 27 

4.  Suggestions  for  lesson  assignments 28 

VI.  THE  STUDY  RECITATION 

1.  Teaching  the  child  to  study 29 

2.  Causes  of  serious  difficulties  in  studying  history  30 

a.  Failure  to  comprehend  the  meaning  of 

words 31 

b.  Lack  of  concentration  hi  reading 31 

c.  Inability  to  pick  out  important  topics ...  32 

d.  Missing  the  relation  between  cause  and 

effect 32 

e.  Bad  memorizing  habits 33 

/.  Depending  on  the  teacher  for  explanation  33 

3.  Silent  reading  and  its  results 33 

4.  Supplementing  the  study  of  the  text 34 

5.  Guiding  home  study 36 

VII.  THE  USE  OF  OUTSIDE  READING 

1.  Outside  reading  a  vital  factor 38 

2.  The  worth  of  reference  reading 38 

132 


OUTLINE 

3.  Types  of  recommended  readings 39 

a.  Source  readings 39 

b.  Supplementary  texts 41 

c.  The  larger  histories  and  biographies 42 

d.  Fiction  and  poetry 43 

e.  Magazine  and  newspaper  references 43 

4.  The  use  of  the  library ,45 

VIII.  THE  RECITATION 

1.  The  function  of  the  recitation 47 

2.  The  tendency  toward  a  narrow,  mechanical 

testing  use 47 

3.  Various  types  of  recitations 49 

a.  The  question  and  answer  recitation 49 

b.  The  topical  recitation 52 

c.  The  class  discussion  of  a  subject 55 

d.  The  exposition  by  the  teacher 57 

4.  The  point  of  view  in  the  choice  of  material ...  59 

a.  One-sided  selection 60 

6.  Emphasizing  the  most  fruitful  aspects. . .  61 
c.  Bringing  in  the  necessary  historical  back- 
ground    64 

5.  Using  the  "problem  method" 64 

6.  The  "motivating"  lesson 66 

7.  Teaching  history  by  means  of  the  present 68 

8.  Relating  history  and  literature 68 

IX.  THE  USE  OF  THE  OUTLINE 

1.  The  aim  of  the  outline 70 

2.  Textbook  outlines 71 

3.  Individual  outlines 72 

4.  Outlines  made  in  class 73 

5.  The  outline  for  recitation  and  review 75 

133 


OUTLINE 

X.  THE  USE  OF  ILLUSTRATIVE  MATERIAL 

1.  The  worth  of  visual  and  manual  aids 78 

2.  Maps  and  charts 79 

3.  Constructive  hand  work 84 

4.  Pictures 86 

XI.  DRAMATIZATION 

1.  The  natural  interest  in  dramatization gi 

2.  History  a  rich  field  for  dramatic  representation  94 

3.  Two  classes  of  dramatizations 95 

a.  The  formal  play,  pageant,  or  tableau 95 

6.  Informal  or  spontaneous  presentations. . .  99 

X.  DEBATES 

1.  The  tradition  of  debate 103 

2.  The  value  of  formal  debate 103 

a.  Develops  fluent  expression 103 

b.  Teaches  self-confidence 104 

c.  Trains  in  parliamentary  procedure 104 

d.  Engenders  self-control 104 

e.  Fosters  careful  preparation 105 

3.  The  informal  debate 106 

XIII.  RELATION  OF  HISTORY  TO  GEOGRAPHY 

1.  History  is  conditioned  by  geography 109 

2.  Social,  religious,  and  patriotic  ideals  as  other 

conditioning  factors 113 

XIV.  CONCERNING  ENGLISH 

1.  English  is  not  an  isolated  subject 115 

2.  The  daily  history  lesson  as  a  medium  for  teach- 

ing English 117 

134 


OUTLINE 

XV.  CONCERNING  HOLIDAYS 

1.  Honor  days  as  opportunities  for  history  teach- 

ing    122 

2.  The  need  for  originality  and  variety 123 

3.  A  progressive  plan  for  the  grades 123 

4.  Underlying  ideas  of  responsibility  and  patriotic 

service 128 

5.  A  brief  list  of  helpful  books 130 


RIVERSIDE   EDUCATIONAL   MONOGRAPHS 

Edited  by  HENRY  SUZZALLO 

Andress's  The  Teaching  of  Hygiene  in  the  Grades  $  .75 
Atwood's  The  Theory  and  Practice  of  the  Kindergarten  .75 
Bailey's  Art  Education  .75 
Betts's  New  Ideals  in  Rural  Schools  .75 
Betts's  The  Recitation  .75 
Bloomfield's  Vocational  Guidance  of  Youth  .75 
Cabot's  Volunteer  Help  to  the  Schools  .75 
Campagnac's  The  Teaching  of  Composition  .40 
Cole's  Industrial  Education  in  Elementary  Schools  .40 
Cooley's  Language  Teaching  in  the  Grades  .40 
Cubberley's  Changing  Conceptions  of  Education  .40 
Cubberley's  The  Improvement  of  Rural  Schools  .40 
Dewey's  Interest  and  Effort  in  Education  .75 
Dewey's  Moral  Principles  in  Education  .40 
Dooley's  The  Education  of  the  Ne'er-Do- Well  .75 
Earhart's  Teaching  Children  to  Study  .75 
Eliot's  Education  for  Efficiency  .40 
Eliot's  Concrete  and  Practical  in  Modern  Education  .40 
Emerson's  Education  .40 
Evans's  The  Teaching  of  High  School  Mathematics  .40 
Fairchild's  The  Teaching  of  Poetry  in  the  High  School  .75 
Fiske's  The  Meaning  of  Infancy  .40 
Freeman's  The  Teaching  of  Handwriting  .75 
Haliburton  and  Smith's  Teaching  Poetry  in  the  Grades  .75 
Hartwell's  The  Teaching  of  History  .40 
Haynes's  Economics  in  the  Secondary  School  .75 
Hill's  The  Teaching  of  Civics  .75 
Home's  The  Teacher  as  Artist  .40 
Hyde's  The  Teacher's  Philosophy  .40 
Jenkins's  Reading  in  the  Primary  Grades  .75 
Kendall  and  Stryker's  History  in  the  Elementary  Grades  .75 
Kilpatrick's  The  Montessori  System  Examined  .40 
Leonard's  English  Composition  as  a  Social  Problem  .75 
Lewis's  Democracy's  High  School  .75 
Maxwell's  The  Observation  of  Teaching  .75 
Meredith's  The  Educational  Bearings  of  Modern  Psy- 
chology .75 
Palmer's  Ethical  and  Moral  Instruction  in  the  Schools  .40 
Palmer's  Self-Cultivation  in  English  .40 
Palmer's  The  Ideal  Teacher  .40 
Palmer's  Trades  and  Professions  .40 
Perry's  Status  of  the  Teacher  .40 
Prosser's  The  Teacher  and  Old  Age  .75 
Russell's  Economy  in  Secondary  Education  .40 
Smith's  Establishing  Industrial  Schools  .75 
Snedden's  The  Problem  of  Vocational  Education  .40 
Suzzallo's  The  Teaching  of  Primary  Arithmetic  .75 
Suzzallo's  The  Teaching  of  Spelling  .75 
Swift's  Speech  Defects  in  School  Children  .75 
Terman's  The  Teacher's  Health  .75 
Thorndike's  Individuality  .40 
Trowbridge's  The  Home  School  .75 
Weeks's  The  People's  School  .75 
3016 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY,  LOS  ANGELES 
EDUCATION  AND  PSYCHOLOGY  LIBRARY 

This  books  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


MOV  13  1971 


R  LOAN 

APR  2      1979 

f 
QL  DOT    3  1983 


Form  L9-10m-8,'65(F6230s8)4939A 


UCLA-ED/PSYCH  Library 

D  16.3  K34 


L  005  610  883  0 


;  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


A     000  945  923     1 


